Midnight blue is a dark shade of

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

named for its resemblance to the apparently blue color of a moonlit

night sky The night sky is the nighttime appearance of celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a night sky include ...

around full moon. Midnight blue is identifiably blue to the eye in sunlight or

full-spectrum light Full-spectrum light is light that covers the electromagnetic spectrum from infrared to near-ultraviolet, or all wavelengths that are useful to plant or animal life; in particular, sunlight is considered full spectrum, even though the solar spectral ...

, but can appear black under certain more limited spectra sometimes found in artificial lighting (especially early 20th-century

incandescent Incandescence is the emission of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) from a hot body as a result of its high temperature. The term derives from the Latin verb ''incandescere,'' to glow white. A common use of incandescence i ...

). It is similar to navy, which is also a dark blue.

Variations

X11

There are two major shades of midnight blue—the X11 color and the

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in list of art media, art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks To ...

color. This color was originally called ''midnight''. The first recorded use of ''midnight'' as a color name in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

was in 1915. At right is displayed the color midnight blue. This is the ''X11

web color Web colors are colors used in displaying web pages on the World Wide Web, and the methods for describing and specifying those colors. Colors may be specified as an RGB triplet or in hexadecimal format (a ''hex triplet'') or according to their c ...

midnight blue''.

Dark midnight blue (Crayola)

At right is displayed the dark shade of midnight blue that is called ''midnight blue'' in

crayons. Midnight blue became an official crayola color in 1958; before that, since having been formulated by Crayola in 1903, it was called Prussian blue.

In culture

Higher education

Hatfield College , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

, part of Durham University, uses midnight blue as its associated color

Fashion

* Midnight blue is an alternative to black as a color for dinner jackets. Due to the deepness of the color, midnight blue formal clothes are often almost indistinguishable from black. The Duke of Windsor popularized the color in suits and tuxedos.

Military

* The dark blue of US Army and

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

dress blue uniform coats is called midnight blue. * The Special Reconnaissance Regiment uses midnight blue on its stable belts, as a flat color all round.

Sports

* The

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the National Basketball Association use midnight blue and sunshine yellow as their official team colors. * The

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...

Rockets A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

use midnight blue and gold as their official team colors. * The Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League used midnight blue as an official team color from 1996 to 2012.

Music

* In 1963, American jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell released the album '' Midnight Blue''. * In 1975,

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

released " Midnight Blue". * In 1979, the album, ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

'', released by British symphonic rock turned disco band Electric Light Orchestra, contained a song named "Midnight Blue." * In 1987, rock vocalist Lou Gramm released a single entitled " Midnight Blue".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight Blue Shades of black Shades of blue