Looking for the end of the rainbow? You might try the planetarium. A collaborative effort between Carol Townsend, associate professor of design, and Kevin Williams, assistant professor of earth sciences and science education, gave students in Townsend’s color theory class a new insight into colors.

Williams, who is also the director of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium in the Science Building, worked with Townsend to design a planetarium show that demonstrated the colors visible to humans. The rainbow colors, ranging from red to violet, are the basis of all the colors that human eyes can discern—more than 10 million hues, according to Townsend. “Benjamin Moore offer only 3,300 choices in their paints,” she told her class.

By using the new LED lighting system installed in the planetarium, Williams presented the primary red, blue, and yellow of the color wheel as well as the secondary colors of orange, purple, and green across the planetarium’s dome. The two faculty members also gave students a vivid demonstration on how the hue of ambient light—red, blue, yellow, and green—affect the way we see skin tones and other colors.

Williams, a planetary geologist, explained how scientists use color to discern the chemical composition of planets’ surfaces and atmospheres. He also demonstrated the effect of light emitted from various sources such as incandescent, LED, halogen, and fluorescent bulbs.

“The planetarium is a resource that can be used across the disciplines, and I look forward to collaborating with other faculty members,” said Williams.