Drawing HII Regions - acnelson12/PP4 GitHub Wiki
PP4 currently just uses plain red for HII regions.
Calculating a Better HII Color
Visible hydrogen emissions come from the first four wavelengths of the Balmer Series.
- Hydrogen alpha: 656 nm - FF0000
- Hydrogen beta: 486 nm - 55DDFF
- Hydrogen gamma: 434 nm - 0000FF
- Hydrogen delta: 410 nm - 5F5FD3
Creating the color of glowing hydrogen is now a matter of finding the relative intensities of each wavelength.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/hydspec.html
- 300p H Alpha
- 080p H Beta
- 030p H Gamma
- 015p H Delta
- 425p total
The relative colors for mixing are then:
- 180r 0g 0b
- 16r 42g 48b
- 0r 0g 18b
- 3r 3g 7b
This yields 199r 45g 73b. Maximizing the intensity gives 255r 58g 94b or FF3A5E.
http://spacemandan.net/astronomy/Deep_Space/Eagle_Nebula/In_True_Color-med.jpg
Comparing this color to the picture above, the color seems reasonably accurate.