Scorching Orbit Malachite
Scorching Orbit Malachite (#11BA89) is a true teal with a vibrant character. It holds its own as a focal accent, carrying visual weight without tipping into neon territory. Its HSL profile (163°, 83%, 40%) places it in the highly saturated band at a mid lightness. Best used in small doses, like logos, CTAs, focus rings, or highlight text, where its saturation becomes a feature rather than noise. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary red. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.
Etymology
Old English scorcnian, to dry up — present-participle of scorch. As a color modifier, scorching implies a saturated-and-burning-hot quality, the bright color of Mojave-Desert-and-Death-Valley mid-afternoon high-temperature surface-emission. Sits at the bright-and-warm end of the grid, parallel to searing and sizzling in usage.
Latin orbita, track-or-wheel-rut. As a color modifier, orbit implies a Keplerian-ellipse-and-circling quality, the visual register of Keplerian-ellipse-and-Newton-Principia-orbit hand-Keplerian-ellipse-and-circling Keplerian-ellipse-and-Newton-Principia-and-Tycho-orbit orbit-and-Keplerian-ellipse-and-circling surfaces under Keplerian-ellipse-and-Newton-Principia-and-Tycho-orbit Royal-Society-and-celestial-mechanics 17th-century-observation-light. Sits at the modifier-and-cosmic end of the grid, parallel to axis and parsec in usage.
A copper carbonate mineral — Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂ — that crystallizes as concentric green bands in oxidized copper deposits. Mined for ornamental stone since ancient Egypt, ground into pigment for medieval European painting, polished into the malachite columns of the Russian Hermitage. The color refers to a polished cabochon: a saturated, slightly muted green with the high shine of stone and the visible banding of growth rings.
Closest matches
The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.
Variations
Click any swatch to exploreHarmonies
Accessibility
How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.
The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.