H-alpha
Sign in to saveAlso known as hydrogen alpha, Hα, Balmer alpha line, Balmer line, alpha line
thumb|In the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, the electron transition from energy level n = 3 to n = 2 results in the emission of an H-alpha photon.
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thumb|In the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, the electron transition from energy level n = 3 to n = 2 results in the emission of an H-alpha photon.
Hydrogen-alpha, typically shortened to H-alpha or Hα, is a deep-red visible spectral line of the hydrogen atom with a wavelength of 656.28 nm in air and 656.46 nm in vacuum. It is the first spectral line in the Balmer series and is emitted when an electron falls from a hydrogen atom's third- to second-lowest energy level. H-alpha has applications in astronomy where its emission can be observed from emission nebulae and from features in the Sun's atmosphere, including solar prominences and the chromosphere.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “H-alpha” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.