The Argon III filter is a line filter with a central wavelength of 713 nm, designed to capture the specific emission line of doubly ionised argon.
This argon line is produced when high-energy UV Photons from hot central stars ionise the surrounding argon gas, producing a characteristic glow at 713 nm. This is particularly pronounced in:
- Planetary nebulae
- Wolf-Rayet stars – where fast stellar winds interact with the surrounding gas.
- Emission nebulae
With the Ar-III line, astrophotographers are venturing into areas that are more typically reserved for research.
The Astronomik filters supplied with the QHY Camera miniCam8 Mono Combo have been specially developed for this camera and the connected filter wheel. They are optimised for astrophotography. You can supplement the filter set supplied with the camera with this filter.
The sample images by Nico Carver show M57, captured with the miniCAM8 and the ArIII, sii, Ha, and oii filters. The images show the individual line images as well as the combined image.
