^BTHIS PICTURE MAY NOT BE USED TO STATE OR IMPLY THE ^BENDORSEMENT BY NOAO OF ANY COMPANY OR PRODUCT. *** THIS PICTURE MAY NOT BE USED TO STATE OR IMPLY NOAO ENDORSEMENT OF ANY COMPANY OR PRODUCT *** The visible spectrum of the Sun, showing the dark Fraunhofer absorption lines. A spectrum like this is produced by passing the white light from the Sun through the diffraction grating or prism of a spectrograph. This spreads out the light into its constituent rainbow colours. The dark absorption lines are formed when the white light from the Sun's hot interior passes through its cooler outer layers. Certain wavelengths (colours) are absorbed by atoms of the cooler gas and are thus missing from the spectrum. Each element produces its own characteristic set of absorption lines.