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LiveScience
LiveScience
Tyler Santora

Can humans see ultraviolet light?

People at a party. There is a purple-tinted light and paint on the people is glowing under the UV light.

The colors of the rainbow are all around us, but so are hues that most of us can't see, including ultraviolet — a wavelength that eludes many humans but, surprisingly, many animals can perceive.

Ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths are smaller than those on the visible spectrum, but can people see them? The answer, it turns out, depends on how old you are and whether your eyes contain UV-filtering lenses, experts told Live Science.

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