Narrowband

Narrowband imaging involves isolating and capturing specific wavelengths of light using Ha, OIII, and SII filters. 

As the name suggests, narrowband filters have a narrow bandpass. The bandpass enables how much of the spectrum the filter permits to release. This amount is measured in nanometers. The whole visible spectrum runs from wavelengths of 400 nm (blue) to 700 nm (red), whereas a narrowband filter may have a bandpass of as little as 3-5 nm.

The advantage of narrowband imaging is being able to detect more detail in your image, as well as having the ability to image from light-polluted areas.

The following image of the Sadr region in Cygnus was captured using narrowband filters and a monochrome dedicated astronomy camera. The data collected through each filter was mapped to RGB channels to create a false color image.

Sadr Region

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