The Antlia Oxygen III (OIII) 3 nm filter is suitable for imaging OIII emission from nebulae, planetary nebulae and supernova remnants.
The 3 nm bandwidth allows high transmission at a central wavelength of 500.7 nm. The extremely narrow bandwidth allows astronomical imaging from highly light-polluted locations, and provides better contrast in darker locations. The filter effectively suppresses interference from other wavelengths, particularly from artificial mercury and sodium lamps.
Narrow-band Antlia filters are designed to bring out the faintest details of nebulae by suppressing unwanted wavelengths in the background sky. The narrower the bandwidth, the more effective the filter. The transmission of the filter reaches 90% at 500.7 nm. The optical density outside the transmission zone is OD3 (0.1%), which provides an excellent signal-to-noise ratio and a clear cut-off of the other lines.
The clear cut-off of the signal outside the transmission zone is an important parameter because it determines the quality of the filtration. The steeper the cutoff slope, the greater the contrast between the OIII signal and the perfectly black background sky. In addition, a sharp cut-off minimizes halos around bright stars.
Antlia conducts extremely strict quality control during the manufacturing process. Each filter is tested and measured to ensure that it meets the high performance requirements of the specifications. Tight tolerances require perfectly homogeneous substrates and uniform thicknesses; deviations from specifications should not exceed 0.05 mm.
Applications and performance
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- Very narrow bandwidth of 3 nm, designed for astronomical imaging of diffuse nebulae, planetary nebulae and supernova afterglow, whatever the sky quality.
- It can be combined with the Antlia 3 nm H-alpha and SII filters for SHO imaging in the Hubble palette.
- Sharp cut-off of unwanted lines around OIII. Transmission is 90% at 500.7 nm, which increases the contrast of emitting objects.
- Can be used on fast instruments up to F/d3.
- All Antlia filters have blackened edges to eliminate stray reflections.
Technical Specifications
- Glass type: Schott Optical Glass
- Surface quality: 60/40 (per MIL-O-13830)
- 36 mm diameter without mount
- Substrate thickness 2mm
- 90% transmission in the 500.7 nm line Oxygen III
- Filter polished on both sides to an accuracy of λ/4
- Multilayer and anti-reflective treatment on both sides
