How Much Better is an Ha Filter than No Filter! It's Scientific-esque! Bortle 6/7 Test

In a previous video, I figured out how much better is the signal to noise ratio from a Bortle 4 zone compared to a Bortle 7 zone. What about narrowband filters? In this video I scientifically test the SNR of a 12nm bandpass Ha filter with a luminance filter. The results may surprise you!
For those interested, here is the gear I use (or equivalent; Orion has discontinued some of their products, so the equivalent skywatcher products are listed). Most of the links are Amazon Affiliate links. Thanks!
Skywatcher HEQ5 Mount amzn.to/3NVrVQi
Skywatcher 80mm F7.5 Doublet amzn.to/47mbfZi
ZWO EFW mini filter wheel amzn.to/48OxhoN
Optolong LRGB Filter Set (1.25") amzn.to/47r23Tw
Orion 0.8x Reducer amzn.to/47s64a4
USB RJ45 Cable for Controlling Mount amzn.to/4aPlIzu
Raspberry Pi to control mount amzn.to/48mTBWH
R Pi case with touch screen amzn.to/3HvdNKl
ZWO Autofocuser amzn.to/3Skg0hX
Here is the link that compares Bortle 7 to Bortle 4: • Let's measure the SNR!...
I made a free SNR app that can help you know how much integration time you need. It's simple to use! Check it out here: deepskydetail....
#astronomy #astrophotography #neuralnetwork #gimp #rstudio #photography #machinelearning #free #celestron #zwo #siril
Try the sharpening tool I made (AstroSharp)! Download it from GitHub here:
github.com/dee...
nqFI29h8W0Fp9UkKOJry

[@deepskydetail]

We're building a community of astronomy lovers! Join my discord if you feel so inclined :) Link: discord.gg/y2hgupCqfV

[@whyf16uy]

That was a LOT of work. Thanks for your service. :)

[@deepskydetail]

Thank you :)

[@mcdiskett2003]

love that you interleave your tests, so often overlooked..

[@deepskydetail]

Thank you!

[@monkeypuzzlefarm]

Excellent video as usual!

[@deepskydetail]

Thanks, James! Glad you liked it :)

[@Arcteek]

Excellent video

[@deepskydetail]

Glad you liked it!

[@zaugitude]

Great video, thanks for using such thorough testing methods.
Could I trouble for what model scope and reducer that is?
CheerZ!

[@deepskydetail]

The scope is an orion 80 ed. I don't think they sell it anymore. The reducer is also from Orion.

[@MatthewHolevinski]

A Streetcar Named Desire... Nice
That got a chuckle out of me

[@samwarfelphotos]

What Bortle was this test done in? I can only imagine that at a higher Bortle the advantage of the narrowband filter increases, and at lower levels of light pollution it decreases (maybe reaching the same as broadband at a theoretical perfect dark site on a target of pure Ha with no broadband emissions). Or am I wrong on this?
Anyway, I'm curious whether the advantage of the narrowband filter would be as distinct when imaging from my "dark" B4- as it is in your test at an unknown Bortle.
Thank you for your fascinating research and video!

[@deepskydetail]

Oh shoot! I wanted to add in the video that I'm in about a bortle 6! I think you're right about the advantage of filters being better in light pollution (and losing the advantage in darker sites). I'm not sure if the advantage completely disappears for narrowband as starglow can also be its own form of noise. But, it would be a great experiment, as I'm not at all confident that I'm correct in my thinking (filters do reduce signal after all)! Awesome comment!

[@samwarfelphotos]

@@deepskydetail Thank you! Always more to learn!

[@Mr.Volcanoes22]

I guess this would be weather and temperature dependent, and you're trying to control for those variables, too. In which case ignore my comment lol. But would it not have been easier to image evenly on either side of the zenith? I recall another channel trying to run a different experiment doing this to avoid the issue of one imaging set being shot through less atmosphere.
Only major flaw with this is it would be pretty target dependent. Wouldnt work if by the time the target is at zenith its morning 😅

[@deepskydetail]

I was thinking about doing it this way too! As you pointed out, I was a bit worried about changes in weather, and a bit concerned about differences in light pollution gradients. I figured I'd sacrifice some imaging time to make sure those things didn't mess up the experiment. :)

[@fenice319]

I really appreciate the amount of effort that you put into the animations even tho it's a small channel, for now :)

[@deepskydetail]

Thank you! I try :)