If you want to achieve the iconic look of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, such as the famous “Pillars of Creation” in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16), the SII filter is an essential addition to your astrophotography setup after H-alpha and OIII filters. Like the H-alpha filter ...If you want to achieve the iconic look of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, such as the famous “Pillars of Creation” in the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16), the SII filter is an essential addition to your astrophotography setup after H-alpha and OIII filters. Like the H-alpha filter, the SII filter is a deep red filter near 672nm.
Together, H-alpha, OIII, and SII filters enable tri-color narrowband imaging that delivers the distinctive Hubble-like appearance for many emission nebulae.