Hydrogen Alpha Emissions
The Chromosphere is
red because a hydrogen atom emits its energy in the red portion of the
visual spectrum. The outer regions of the sun are cooler than the inner
regions and allow atoms to form.
The simplest atom is the Hydrogen
atom. It has one electron that orbits around one proton in the nucleus.
When the nucleus gains energy, it’s electron jumps upward to a higher
orbit and creates an absorption spectral line. But when the proton
emits energy, the electron moves downward and produces an emission line.
Electrons jumping from the 4th to
the 2nd orbit
produce the Hydrogen beta (Hb) emission line. This allows us to see the
Horsehead nebula in Orion, the Cocoon Nebula in Cygnus, and the
California Nebula in Peruses with a Hydrogen Beta filter. These and
other H-Beta nebula are also strong emitters of Hydrogen-alpha, but the
low sensitivity of the dark-adapted human eye makes the H-Beta line the
one we usually see visually.
Electrons jumping from the 3rd to
the 2nd orbit produce
the Hydrogen alpha emission line at 656.3 nanometers.
Why Ha? |
The View |
What you see |
The Chromos |
Ha Emission |
Bandwidth |
Main Designs |
Ha Components |
Rear Filters |
The Etalon |
Front Filters |
Coronado filters |
DayStar Filters |
Solar Spectrum Filters
