Using one of the best eyepieces for telescopes will optimize your instrument's optical prowess and make skywatching even more enjoyable for astronomers, more so than a telescope with a substandard eyepiece would.
Sure, the telescope itself will likely be the most expensive piece of stargazing gear you're likely to purchase, but adding to it with some top-quality accessories will open up a whole new world and an even more immersive and enjoyable experience. One of the most important telescope accessories you should invest in is a decent eyepiece.
There are many high-quality eyepieces available for viewing stars, planets, galaxies, and other celestial objects. While the aperture of the telescope itself is a major factor in determining what you can see, eyepieces play a crucial role as well.
Not sure what eyepieces are or do or why having a good one is important? Scroll to the end of this guide to discover what to look for when selecting the right telescope eyepiece for you. If you haven't invested in a telescope yet, you obviously need to make that choice first — if that's the case, start off by looking at our Best telescopes, Best telescopes for beginners, or Best telescopes for kids.
Best eyepieces for telescopes deal June 2023
Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023
Why you can trust Space.com Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test and review products.
Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 ranked
The Tele Vue Ethos eyepiece range is the best on the market. They have superb optics, generous eye relief, and a vast 100-degree field of view. This makes for an incredibly immersive viewing experience, and it's no wonder that they're so popular with owners of large Dobsonian telescopes.
Using Tele Vue Ethos eyepieces to view objects such as star clusters or bright nebulas can be likened to an out-of-this-world experience. The view is pin-sharp and well-corrected across the entire field, giving you the feeling that you're floating in space. Of course, such quality comes at a significant cost, but if you're looking for the best available and have the budget to spare, the Ethos range is definitely worth your consideration.
- Take awe-inspiring astrophotos with one of the Best cameras for astrophotography
Tele Vue is a company that has been producing high-quality optics for over 45 years. Their Plossl eyepieces are among the best available, offering top-notch performance across the board. The eyepieces in the Plossl range are best suited for high-power planetary observing due to their narrow apparent field of view (you can't see much of the sky at one time).
Various features such as internal anti-reflection threads, blackened lens edges, and fully multi-coated lenses result in a sharp, clear image with excellent contrast all the way to the edge of the FOV. A wide range of focal lengths from 8mm to 50mm is available to suit almost any telescope you'd wish to use them on.
- Enjoy the cosmos from the comfort of your living room with one of the Best star projectors
While their Plossl eyepieces are undoubtedly superb (as above), Tele Vue's Nagler series represent among the finest eyepieces available anywhere, full stop. Advanced and professional astronomers favor them. The price of these eyepieces also indicates that they are targeted at more experienced and committed observers.
They come in a range of focal lengths and are suitable for any style of observation. The huge 82-degree apparent field draws you into the view; you'll have to move your eyes around the field of view to take everything in, whether a rich star cluster or roaming across the rugged lunar landscape. Both 1.25-inch and 2-inch barrel sizes are available.
- Check out the Vaonis Vespera Observation Smart Station — no eyepiece required!
Baader is a well-known brand for producing high-quality products. This complete eyepiece set is no exception, and it offers excellent value for money. Amateur astronomers highly regard this set for its surprisingly great build quality and high-quality optics.
A generous seven high-quality eyepieces are included in the set, ranging from 5mm to 24mm. Due to their barrel design, these eyepieces also fit 1.25-inch and 2-inch focusers. In addition to their generous 20mm eye relief — great news for spectacle wearers — these eyepieces have a large 68-degree apparent field of view (FOV), making them well-suited for all kinds of observing.
- Discover the Best accessories for astrophotographers
The Celestron Omni Plossl eyepiece range offers an excellent entry-level range into the higher quality 4-element Plossl design. Aesthetically, they look stylish and premium, with a nice gloss aluminum finish on one half of the barrel and a sophisticated matte gray finish on the other. Each element is designed to reduce distortions and color fringing (chromatic aberration) and the inside of the barrel is black to minimize internal reflections.
A wide range of focal lengths is available, from 4mm to 56mm, all in 1.25-inch size aside from the 56mm eyepiece, which comes in a 2-inch size. These eyepieces produce sharp images, especially on the axis, and are well suited to planetary observations. Their narrow apparent field makes them usable for deep sky observation but not ideal. The eyepieces are all supplied with a dust cap over the barrel and eye lens.
- Discover the Best headlamps
The Celestron Luminos eyepiece range represents the replacement for their popular Axiom eyepieces. These, however, are an improved high-end design but still lighter than the range they replace. They have twist-up eyecups and a parfocal eyepiece. This means little to no focusing is needed when changing from low to high power.
The comfortable eye relief and ultra-wide apparent FOV of 82 degrees provide a large, immersive view of your target object, making it ideal for viewing large subjects like the moon and planets, as well as small objects like galaxies and nebulas. Some sizes are only available in 2-inch size making them quite expensive.
- Like Celestron? Check out Celestron Telescope and Binocular deals
Takahashi is a well-known brand for producing optics of the very highest quality. Their Abbe Orthoscopic eyepiece range has become almost legendary among planetary observers, and these eyepieces are widely considered among the very best available for that purpose. They are fully multi-coated for maximum light transition and increased contrast.
A wide range of focal lengths is available to suit almost any telescope. Their narrow apparent field of view — 44 degrees — makes them unsuitable for deep sky observation but ideal for lunar and planetary observation.
- Looking to upskill? Find out How to view and photograph comets here
The Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces are a great, high-quality range for those interested in observing our neighboring planets.
The seven focal lengths on offer are well suited to high-power (large magnification) observing, such as lunar and planetary. That said, the apparent field of view is a wide 60 degrees — this is perfect for quickly finding your way around the sky.
The image quality is sharp and well-corrected and the eye cups give a generous 16mm eye relief making them ideal for spectacle wearers. The more expensive X-Cel versions have twist-up eyecups, while this version has fold-up eyecups. The lenses are fully multi-coated, which means that there is more than one layer of coating on all air-to-glass surfaces. This reduces reflections and improves light transmission.
The external bodies are made of stylish black-anodized aluminum with the orange detailing we've come to know and love from Celestron. The interior of the eyepieces are also black to reduce internal reflections further. A rubber grip around the middle of the barrel provides you with a secure grip, so you're less likely to drop them when swapping between eyepieces, especially useful if you're wearing gloves.
- Need a telescope? Check out the Best telescopes for seeing planets
The Skywatcher Super Modified Achromatic eyepieces offer a small selection of 1.25-inch eyepieces at a remarkably budget price. They are designed for medium to large aperture ratio telescopes.
While they certainly don't have the same optical quality as more expensive designs in this guide, they still provide surprisingly good views. They come with fully coated optics which is very impressive for the ridiculously low price.
This range of eyepieces also has nice fold-down rubber eye cups for comfortable viewing. They are ideal for the beginner, a budding young astronomer just starting out, or just someone who doesn't want to spend a fortune on accessories.
- Keep warm and dry with one of the best tents for stargazing
The Antares W70 Widefield range of eyepieces is perhaps the best affordable range available. Large star clusters and nebulas will easily fit into your field of view with high magnification.
The image is pleasingly bright and, more importantly, sharp from edge to edge. They offer very good quality with comfortable eye relief and wide apparent field making them well suited to deep sky observing.
The only real negative point is that they aren't as widely available as some other brands. That said, if you are looking for some good eyepieces on a budget these are well worth considering. As we write, there are a number of used Antares on eBay that may save you some additional cash too.
- Read our guide to discover What are star clusters?
How we test the best eyepieces for telescopes 2023
To guarantee you're getting honest, up-to-date recommendations on the best eyepieces to buy here at Space.com, we make sure to put every eyepiece through a rigorous review to test each instrument thoroughly. Each eyepiece is reviewed based on many aspects, from its construction and design, to how well it functions as an optical instrument and performs in the field.
Each eyepiece is carefully tested by our expert staff or knowledgeable freelance contributors who thoroughly know their subject areas. This ensures fair reviewing is backed by personal, hands-on experience with each eyepiece and is judged based on its price point, class and destined use.
With complete editorial independence, Space.com are here to ensure you get the best buying advice on telescopes, whether you should purchase an instrument or not, making our buying guides and reviews reliable and transparent.
Best eyepieces for telescopes: What to look for
For those perhaps unfamiliar with them, eyepieces are the small hand-held lenses that we place at the telescope's focus to bring the image into sharp focus for our eyes to observe. They are available in a variety of different types and designs. They also come in various focal lengths, determining the effective magnification. Focal lengths of anywhere between three to 50mm are widely available. Various lens designs are widely used — Plossl, Kellner, Orthoscopic and Radian are the most popular. A number of companies today also offer multi-element designs on a custom basis.
There are three popular sizes of eyepiece barrel diameters: 0.96 inches, 1.25 inches, and 2 inches. Almost every telescope can accept eyepieces of one of these sizes. The 1.25-inch size is the most widely used among manufacturers.
Here are some key points to consider:
Focal length — The eyepiece's focal length (usually measured in mm) The larger the number, the lower the magnification it will provide (the subject will not appear as close up).
Barrel diameter — Eyepieces come in 0.96-inch, 1.25-inch or 2-inch barrel sizes.
Magnification — The power the eyepiece provides with your telescope (this will vary depending upon the telescope.)
Apparent FOV — The apparent field of view is measured in degrees. In general, eyepieces with a large apparent field will cost significantly more but provide an almost '3D-like' viewing experience, especially for deep sky observing of extended objects. A wider field of view allows you to see more of the sky at once.
Eye Relief — Usually described in mm, this tells you how far your pupil must be from the rear element of the eyepiece to see the entire field of view. A longer eye relief gives a more enjoyable viewing experience, especially if you wear glasses where you physically won't be able to get your pupil as close as non-spectacle wearers.
Exit Pupil — The figure (also usually in mm) describes the size of the light cone at the eye relief position. Our dark-adapted pupil is never larger than 7mm, so any exit pupil size above this level is wasted light.
Coatings — Eyepieces with multi-coatings offer better contrast and brightness than eyepieces with no coatings.
