Balmer series

The Balmer series is the set of hydrogen spectral lines emitted or absorbed when electrons transition between the second energy level and higher levels.

Rydberg formula: An equation that predicts the wavelengths of spectral lines in hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms. Setting the lower level to two gives the wavelengths of Balmer-series lines.
H-alpha: The red hydrogen spectral line at about 656.3 nanometers, produced by a transition from level three to level two. It is the longest-wavelength and usually most familiar Balmer line.
Johann Balmer: A Swiss mathematician who discovered an empirical formula for visible hydrogen spectral lines in 1885. His formula first organized the wavelengths now identified as the Balmer series.
Hydrogen-alpha imaging: Solar and astronomical imaging through a narrow filter centered on hydrogen’s H-alpha wavelength. The line isolates emission from hydrogen in the Sun’s chromosphere and other nebulae.
Lyman series: Hydrogen spectral lines from electron transitions between higher levels and the ground state. Its transitions end at level one, placing its lines in the ultraviolet rather than the visible.
Hydrogen atom: The simplest atom, consisting of one proton and one electron in its most common isotope. Its electron energy levels produce the transitions that define this series.
H-beta: The blue-green hydrogen spectral line near 486.1 nanometers, produced by a transition from level four to level two. It is the next prominent Balmer line after H-alpha.
Spectroscopy: The study of how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation across wavelengths or frequencies. Measurements of hydrogen spectra revealed the regularity Balmer described.
Stellar classification: The organization of stars into spectral classes based on their spectra and physical properties. Balmer-line strengths help identify temperature ranges and stellar types.
Paschen series: Hydrogen spectral lines from electron transitions between higher levels and the third energy level. Its lower level is three, so its lines occur at longer wavelengths, chiefly in the infrared.

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