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.
In modern astrophotography image processing, software tools are evolving faster than ever. One that’s been generating a lot of buzz in the deep-sky community is the Seti Astro NB to RGB Star Combination Tool. This utility bridges the gap between narrowband and RGB star data, making it easier than ever to create natural-looking deep-sky images…
I recently ran an impromptu astrophotography image processing challenge, and the results were out of this world (sorry, I had to do it). The craziest thing about it is that the data wasn’t overly great (in terms of overall exposure time) or interesting. Just a seemingly random portion of the constellation Cygnus that includes the…
Have you ever wondered what the same deep-space object would look like using two very different telescopes? I thought this was a great concept for a video (see below) and a real eye-opener for those looking into upgrading their telescope for astrophotography. For this experiment, we used two high-quality refractor telescopes that were very different…
In this post, I’ll walk you through my process of photographing a jaw-dropping nebula in the night sky known as Thor’s Helmet. As usual, there were a number of challenges in my way, but it wouldn’t be astrophotography without a little stress now would it? I am using an imaging setup that I have used…
Last week, I photographed the Wizard Nebula with my camera and telescope in the backyard. The final image includes 24 individual exposures of 4-minutes each, for a grand total of 1.5 hours. Despite a bright moon interfering, it is by far my best image of the Wizard Nebula to date. In this post, I’ll explain…
The Optolong L-eXtreme filter is now being used in backyards across the globe, which is great news for those who take astrophotography images in heavy light pollution. This dual-narrowband filter features even narrower bandpasses than last year’s L-eNhance, making it perfect for nebula photography from the city. The Optolong L-eXtreme filter isolates the H-alpha (Ha),…
After almost a decade of taking pictures of space with a DSLR camera, I have come to the realization that a DSLR Ha filter is quite possibly the most important astrophotography filter in your kit. Traditional light pollution filters designed to help you photograph deep sky objects in broadband (true-color) are useful, but a hydrogen-alpha…
With the aid of an Astronomik 12nm Ha filter, I can capture deep-sky images more often than ever before. With both the Canon EOS clip-in version for my DSLR and the 2″ CCD round mounted version for the my dedicated astronomy camera, I collect photons in every moon phase. Despite the bright 80% illuminated moon…
Narrowband imaging with a color camera is not only possible, but I have found it to be an excellent way of adding detail and structure to my astrophotography images. If you currently own a one-shot-color camera or DSLR, I highly recommend trying some narrowband filters with it such as Ha (Hydrogen-alpha). Ideally, you’ll use a…