The ocean is blue because water absorbs colors in the red part of the light spectrum. Like a filter, this leaves behind colors in the blue part of the light spectrum for us to see. When sunlight hits ...

This segment originally aired in December 2023. It aired again in March 2025. Every other Friday on Morning Edition, the Outside/In team answers a question from a listener about the natural world.

Used in decorating for centuries, serene dark blues have always been enduringly popular, harmonizing with many hues for gloriously diverse results, but are we finally falling out of love with this ...

A new test called "Is my blue your blue?" reveals how different -- or similar -- your color perceptions are compared to everyone else. First there was “the dress,” then there was the sneakers, now ...

Color is to the eye what birdsong is to the ear: a primal communion between ourselves and nature. The elemental power of color radiates from van Gogh’s shimmering wheat fields; in celestial ...