The NASA SCIence Files™
Light and Color
diagram showing why an object appears white
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears WHITE because an equal mixture of RED, BLUE, and GREEN is reflected off the object and interpreted by our eyes and brain as WHITE.
  3. We see the color WHITE.
diagram showing why an object appears black
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears BLACK because RED, BLUE, and GREEN are all absorbed, which leaves nothing to be reflected.
  3. We see the color BLACK.
diagram showing why an object appears yellow
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears YELLOW because the BLUE light is absorbed, while RED and GREEN are reflected and combine to form YELLOW.
  3. We see the color YELLOW.
diagram showing why an object appears magenta
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears MAGENTA because the GREEN light is absorbed, while RED and BLUE are reflected and combine to form MAGENTA.
  3. We see the color MAGENTA.
diagram showing why an object appears cyan
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears CYAN because the RED light is absorbed, while GREEN and BLUE are reflected and combine to form CYAN.
  3. We see the color CYAN.
diagram showing why an object appears blue
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears BLUE because RED and GREEN are absorbed, while only the BLUE light is reflected.
  3. We see the color BLUE.
diagram showing why an object appears green
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears GREEN because RED and BLUE are absorbed, while only the GREEN light is reflected.
  3. We see the color GREEN.
diagram showing why an object appears red
  1. The Sun gives off "white" light, a mixture of all the colors in the spectrum.
  2. The object appears RED because GREEN and BLUE are absorbed, while only the RED light is reflected.
  3. We see the color RED.