The major distinction between emission and absorption spectra is that an emission spectrum has various colored lines, whereas an absorption spectrum contains dark-colored lines. When electrons return to their original energy levels, this is called emission. When electrons absorb energy, they leap to higher energy levels. When ground-state atoms absorb energy from a radiation source, atomic absorption spectra are created. When neutral atoms in an excited state return to the ground state or a lower-energy state, they release energy, resulting in atomic emission spectra.