Narrowband Astrophotography - What to Expect With Each Filter?
- Antoine & Dalia Grelin
- Jul 15, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 28
On this page, you will find a list of narrowband objects we have captured over the years with our monochrome camera. Each object will have screenshots of what the data for each filter used looked like. This way, you can quickly know what to expect when imaging these objects, and decide what filter to skip or spend the most time on.
A link to our full blog post containing our final image processed from these shots, much more information, and tips on how to capture it will also be displayed for each object.
We would like to thank Georg Woeber for this great idea he had during our fourth Galactic Hangout live stream. Galactic Hangouts occur quarterly and all Patreons/Galactic Course members are invited!
Expand the list below to quickly see if your target is on this page:
Messier Objects
Messier 1 - The Crab Nebula
Messier 8 - The Lagoon Nebula
Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula
Messier 17 - The Omega Nebula
Messier 20 - The Trifid Nebula
Messier 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula
Messier 42 - The Orion Nebula
Messier 43 - De Mairan's Nebula
Messier 76 - The Little Dumbbell Nebula
Messier 97 - The Owl Nebula
NGC Objects
NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula
NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula
NGC 1499 - The California Nebula
NGC 1977 - The Running Man Nebula
NGC 2024 - The Flame Nebula
NGC 2237 - The Rosette Nebula
NGC 2264 - The Cone Nebula
NGC 2359 - Thor's Helmet Nebula
NGC 3293 - The Gem Cluster
NGC 3576 - The Statue of Liberty Nebula
NGC 6188 - The Fighting Dragons of Ara Nebula
NGC 6543 - The Cat's Eye Nebula
NGC 6820
NGC 6888 - The Crescent Nebula
NGC 6960 - The Western Veil Nebula
NGC 6974 - Pickering's Triangle Nebula
NGC 6992 - The Eastern Veil Nebula
NGC 6960 | 6974 | 6979 | 6992 | 6995 | IC 1340 - The Cygnus Loop / Veil Nebula Complex
NGC 7000 - The North America Nebula
NGC 7293 - The Helix Nebula
NGC 7380 - The Wizard Nebula
NGC 7635 - The Bubble Nebula
IC Objects
IC 405 - The Flaming Star Nebula
IC 410 - The Tadpoles Nebula
IC 434 - The Horsehead Nebula
IC 443 - The Jellyfish Nebula
IC 1318 - The Sadr Region
IC 1396 - The Elephant's Trunk Nebula
IC 1795 - The Fish Head Nebula
IC 1805 - The Heart Nebula
IC 1848 - The Soul Nebula
IC 2177 - The Seagull Nebula
IC 2944 - The Running Chicken Nebula
IC 5067/5070 - The Pelican Nebula
Sharpless Objects
Sh2-101 - The Tulip Nebula
Sh2-129 - The Flying Bat Nebula
Sh2-155 - The Cave Nebula
Sh2-157 - The Lobster Claw Nebula
Sh2-188 - The Shrimp Nebula
Sh2-224 - The Rice Hat Nebula
Sh2-240 - The Spaghetti Nebula
Other Objects
Ju 1 - The Soap Bubble Nebula
Ou 4 - The Giant Squid Nebula
VSR - Vela Supernova Remnant
Important Notes:
Some pictures may be difficult to see. You should be able to expand the image but they will look blurry (each image is heavily compressed or else this page would take years to load). Sometimes, more information about the filters used is available on the full blog post for each picture. The goal of this post is to quickly see, at a glance, the difference in signal between different filters, not to zoom in on any tiny detail :)
This list will take years to complete, so it is normal that several objects are still missing!
This list is mostly made up of emission nebulae with a few exceptions. We chose objects that are often captured with narrowband filters. We did not include broadband targets because we don't see much of a point.
The order of the images shown is always H - S - O. If there are only two pictures displayed, that means we did a bi-color combination using H and O filters unless stated otherwise.
Every guide on this website is free! If you find these useful, please check out the premium courses on the Galactic Course website.
Messier Objects
Messier 1 - The Crab Nebula
H - S - O
M1 HA 
M1 SII 
M1 OIII
Messier 8 - The Lagoon Nebula
H - S - O
M8 HA 
M8 SII 
M8 OIII
Messier 16 - The Eagle Nebula
H - S - O
M16 HA 
M16 SII 
M16 OIII
Messier 17 - The Omega Nebula
Messier 20 - The Trifid Nebula
H - S - O
M20 HA 
M20 SII 
M20 OIII
Messier 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula
H - S - O
M27 HA 
M27 SII 
M27 O
Messier 42 - The Orion Nebula
H - S - O
M42 HA 
M42 SII 
M42 OIII
Messier 43 - De Mairan's Nebula
H - S - O
M43 HA 
M43 SII 
M43 OIII
Messier 76 - The Little Dumbbell Nebula
H - O
M76 HA M76 OIII
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
Messier 97 - The Owl Nebula
H - S - O
M97 HA 
M97 SII 
M97 OIII
NGC Objects
NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
NGC 281 - The Pacman Nebula
H - S - O
Pacman Nebula HA 
Pacman Nebula SII 
Pacman Nebula OIII
NGC 1499 - The California Nebula
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
NGC 1977 - The Running Man Nebula
H - S - O
Running Man Nebula HA 
Running Man Nebula SII 
Running Man Nebula OIII
NGC 2024 - The Flame Nebula
H - S - O
Flame Nebula HA 
Flame Nebula SII 
Flame Nebula OIII
NGC 2237 - The Rosette Nebula
H - S - O
Rosette Nebula HA 
Rosette Nebula SII 
Rosette Nebula OIII
NGC 2264 - The Cone Nebula
H - S - O
NGC 2264 HA 
NGC 2264 SII 
NGC 2264 OIII
NGC 2359 - Thor's Helmet Nebula
H - O
Thor's Helmet in HA 
Thor's Helmet in OIII
NGC 3293 - The Gem Cluster
H - S - O
NGC 3576 - The Statue of Liberty Nebula
H - S - O
Statue of Liberty Nebula in HA 
Statue of Liberty Nebula SII 
Statue of Liberty Nebula OIII
NGC 6543 - The Cat's Eye Nebula
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
NGC 6188
H - S - O
NGC 6820
H - S - O
NGC 6820 HA 
NGC 6820 SII 
NGC 6820 OIII
NGC 6888 - The Crescent Nebula
H - O
Crescent Nebula in HA 
Crescent Nebula in OIII
NGC 6960 - The Western Veil Nebula
H - O
NGC 6974 - Pickering's Triangle Nebula
H - O
NGC 6992 - The Eastern Veil Nebula
H - O
The Eastern Veil Nebula HA 
The Eastern Veil Nebula OIII
NGC 6960 | 6974 | 6979 | 6992 | 6995 | IC 1340 - The Cygnus Loop / Veil Nebula Complex
H - O
NGC 7000 - The North America Nebula
H - S - O
NGC 7000 in HA 
NGC 7000 in SII 
NGC 7000 in OIII
NGC 7293 - The Helix Nebula
H - O
The Helix Nebula in HA 
The Helix Nebula in OIII
NGC 7380 - The Wizard Nebula
H - S - O
The Wizard Nebula in HA 
The Wizard Nebula in SII 
The Wizard Nebula in OIII
NGC 7635 - The Bubble Nebula
H - S - O
The Bubble Nebula in HA 
The Bubble Nebula in SII 
The Bubble Nebula in OIII
IC Objects
IC 405 - The Flaming Star Nebula
H - S - O
IC 405 HA 
IC 405 SII 
IC 405 OIII
IC 410 - The Tadpoles Nebula
H - S - O
IC 410 HA 
IC 410 SII 
IC 410 OIII
IC 434 - The Horsehead Nebula
H - S - O
IC 434 in HA 
IC 434 in SII 
IC 434 in OIII
IC 443 - The Jellyfish Nebula
H - S - O
The Jellyfish Nebula in HA 
The Jellyfish Nebula in SII 
The Jellyfish Nebula in OIII
IC 1318 - The Sadr Region
H - S - O
IC 1396 - The Elephant's Trunk Nebula
H - S - O
Elephant Trunk Nebula in HA 
Elephant Trunk Nebula in SII 
Elephant Trunk Nebula in OIII
IC 1795 - The Fish Head Nebula
H - S - O
The Fish Head Nebula in HA 
The Fish Head Nebula in SII 
The Fish Head Nebula in OIII
IC 1805 - The Heart Nebula
H - S - O
Heart Nebula in HA 
Heart Nebula in SII 
Heart Nebula in OIII
IC 1848 - The Soul Nebula
H - S - O
The Soul Nebula in HA 
The Soul Nebula in SII 
The Soul Nebula in OIII
IC 2177 - The Seagull Nebula
H - S - O
The Seagull Nebula in HA 
The Seagull Nebula in SII 
The Seagull Nebula in OIII
IC 2944 - The Running Chicken Nebula
H - S - O
IC 5067/5070 - The Pelican Nebula
H - S - O
Pelican Nebula in HA 
Pelican Nebula in SII 
Pelican Nebula in OIII
Sharpless Objects
Sh2-101 - The Tulip Nebula
H - S - O
The Tulip Nebula in HA 
The Tulip Nebula in SII 
The Tulip Nebula in OIII
Sh2-129 - The Flying Bat Nebula
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
Sh2-155 - The Cave Nebula
H - S - O
The Cave Nebula in HA 
The Cave Nebula in SII 
The Cave Nebula in OIII
Sh2-157 - The Lobster Claw Nebula
H - S - O
The Lobster Claw Nebula HA 
The Lobster Claw Nebula SII 
The Lobster Claw Nebula OIII
Sh2-188 - The Shrimp Nebula
H - S - O
The Shrimp Nebula in HA 
The Shrimp Nebula in SII 
The Shrimp Nebula in OIII
Sh2-224 - The Rice Hat Nebula
H - O
Sh2-224 in HA 
Sh2-224 in OIII
Sh2-240 - The Spaghetti Nebula
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
Other Objects
Ju 1 - The Soap Bubble Nebula
H - O
Soap Bubble Nebula in HA 
Soap Bubble Nebula in OIII
Ou 4 - The Giant Squid Nebula
[Still Working on it! Check back soon!]
VSR - The Vela Supernova Remnant
H - S - O
Vela Supernova Remnant in HA 
Vela Supernova Remnant in SII 
Vela Supernova Remnant in OIII
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Clear Skies,
Antoine & Dalia
Galactic Hunter
What an awesome resource! Helps so much for narrowband exposure planning. Thank you!
- Steve (@urban.astrophotography)
Amazing, Wow, Thank you! Well, no words are enough for what you have done, Antoine & Dalia! You guys are simply great 😊. Your work is just like giving an ultimate idea to a blind person, how beautiful to expect the view, when he gets his vision back. In short, its truly INSPIRATIONAL. I landed here while doing a research about whether to buy S-II filter or not. I already have 6.5nm H-A and O-III. And now I have decided to go for 6.5nm S-II as well.
Pinak Oza
https://telescopius.com/profile/pinakoza
https://www.youtube.com/@pinakoza/videos
Canada
This is a really useful resource - Thanks 😁