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 might be the most expensive item in your stargazing gear collection, but investing in high-quality accessories can significantly enhance your stargazing experience. Among these accessories, a good eyepiece is one of the most crucial investments you should consider. It will open up a whole new world of celestial wonders and make your stargazing sessions even more immersive and enjoyable.
Many high-quality eyepieces are available for viewing stars, planets, galaxies and other celestial objects. While the aperture of the telescope itself is a significant factor in determining what you can see, eyepieces also play a crucial role.
Not sure what eyepieces are or do or why having a good one is necessary? Scroll to the end of this guide to discover what to look for when selecting a telescope eyepiece. If you haven't invested in a telescope yet, you need to make that choice first — if that's the case, start by looking at our Best telescopes, Best telescopes for beginners, or Best telescopes for kids.
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 among the best on the market, though they do come with a pretty hefty price tag. Not only do they have superb optics, but they have generous eye relief — ideal for spectacle wearers — as well as a 100-degree field of view.
The above points amount to an incredibly immersive viewing experience, and it's no wonder they are often the most popular choice of eyepiece for astronomers with large Dobsonian telescopes.
Looking through Tele Vue Ethos eyepieces to observe star clusters or vibrant nebulas feels like an extraordinary space adventure. The view is incredibly clear and perfectly corrected across the entire field, creating a feeling of floating through space.
As mentioned, such quality and stunning performance come at a significant cost, but if you're looking for the best available and have the budget to spare, the Ethos range is undoubtedly worth your attention.
- Take awe-inspiring astrophotos with one of the Best cameras for astrophotography
Like the Tele Vue Ethos Range, Tele Vue's Plossl eyepieces are also among some of the best available. After all, Tele Vue is a company that has been producing high-quality optics for almost half a century.
The Tele Vue Ethos eyepieces deliver exceptional performance throughout their entire range of focal lengths, which includes options from 8mm to 50mm. These eyepieces are compatible with almost any telescope you might want to use them with. They're especially well-suited for high-power planetary observing, mainly due to their narrow apparent field of view, which means you can focus in on specific details without seeing too much sky at once.
Various features that are synonymous with quality eyepieces include internal anti-reflection threads, blackened lens edges and fully multi-coated lenses. Combined, this results in a sharp, clear image with excellent contrast all the way to the edge of the field of view.
- Enjoy the cosmos from the comfort of your living room with one of the Best star projectors
It's a one, two three for Tele Vue. The Tele Vue Nagler range represents some of the finest eyepieces available anywhere, full stop. They were designed to give the user a spacewalk-like experience, making the skywatcher forget they are even using a telescope.
The hefty price per eyepiece means that, in reality, they are reserved for advanced and professional astronomers rather than casual enthusiasts, which is why we haven't put them at the top of this guide.
No matter what you want to observe, Tele Vue Ethos eyepieces cater to any style of viewing. They have blackened lens edges and anti-reflection threads that ensure maximum contrast in your observations. The eyepieces boast a vast 82-degree apparent field of view, which truly immerses you in the view. To see everything, be it a dense star cluster or exploring the rugged lunar landscape, you'll need to move your eyes around the field of view. Additionally, these eyepieces are available in both 1.25-inch and 2-inch barrel sizes, providing options for different telescope setups.
- 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 offers excellent value for money. Amateur astronomers highly regard this set for its surprisingly excellent build quality and high-quality optics, including multi-coated lenses. While a sizeable initial outlay, this set offers excellent value for money, about half the price per eyepiece than the Tele Vue Nagler range we just mentioned. They are available to buy as individual eyepieces too should you want only part of the seven-piece set.
This set of eyepieces includes a variety of focal lengths, ranging from 5mm to 24mm. Their barrel design allows them to fit both 1.25-inch and 2-inch focusers, which is very convenient. The eyepieces also provide a comfortable 20mm eye relief, making them great for people who wear glasses or enjoy long viewing sessions. What's more, they offer a wide 68-degree apparent field of view (FOV), allowing you to see more of the sky in one glance, making them suitable for all types of observations.
- 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. We think they are of fantastic quality given the price of less than $50 per eyepiece, and they're much cheaper for the shorter focal lengths.
While we understand that appearance isn't everything, these eyepieces do have a stylish and premium look. They feature a glossy aluminum finish on one half of the barrel and a sophisticated matte gray finish on the other. But it's not all about looks; each element of the design is carefully crafted to reduce distortions and color fringing, known as chromatic aberration. The inside of the barrel is also black, which helps minimize internal reflections for better clarity in your celestial observations.
The range comes in focal lengths of 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 best suited to planetary observations. Their narrow apparent field makes them usable for deep sky observation but not the best choice. The eyepieces are all supplied with a dust cap over the barrel and objective lens.
- Discover the Best headlamps
The Celestron Luminos eyepiece range represents the replacement for the now discontinued but previously popular Axiom eyepieces.
The Luminos eyepieces are an upgraded, high-end design that are still lighter than the previous range they replace. They come with twist-up eyecups and a parfocal eyepiece, which means you won't need to refocus much when switching between low and high-power views. Each eyepiece has multi-coated lenses to enhance light transmission and blackened edges to prevent light from leaking out of the sides of the barrel. These features contribute to a better observing experience with improved image quality.
The comfortable eye relief and ultra-wide apparent field of view of 82 degrees (the same as the expensive Tele Vue Nagler range) provide a large and immersive view of your target object. The eyepieces in this range are ideal for viewing large subjects like the moon and planets but will also serve you well when scoping out galaxies and nebulas.
We must mention that some sizes (19mm, 23mm and 31mm) are only available for 2-inch barrel sizes.
- 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.
They come in a wide variety of focal lengths, making them compatible with almost any telescope. However, it's important to note that their narrow apparent field of view, measuring 44 degrees, means they are not suitable for observing deep sky objects. On the other hand, this narrower field of view makes them well-suited for observing the Moon and planets, allowing you to focus in on the details of celestial bodies.
- Looking to upskill? Find out How to view and photograph comets here
The seven focal lengths available in this range 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 of these eyepieces is great, with sharp and well-corrected views. They also offer a generous 16mm eye relief, making them comfortable for people who wear glasses and perfect for extended skywatching sessions. The pricier X-Cel versions come with twist-up eyecups, while this version (indicated by 'LX' at the end) has fold-up eyecups.
Additionally, the lenses are fully multi-coated, which means they have multiple layers of coatings on all air-to-glass surfaces. This coating helps reduce reflections and improves the transmission of light, resulting in clearer and brighter views through the eyepieces.
The external bodies are stylish black-anodized aluminum with the orange detailing we've come to know and love from Celestron. The interior of the eyepieces is also black to reduce internal reflections further. A rubber grip around the middle of the barrel provides a secure grip, so you're less likely to drop them when swapping between eyepieces, which is especially useful if you're wearing gloves. Overall we think this is a good quality, reasonably-priced choice that's definitely worth considering.
- Need a telescope? Check out the Best telescopes for seeing planets
The Skywatcher Super Modified Achromatic eyepieces are available in three 1.25-inch focal lengths, 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.
These eyepieces come with convenient fold-down rubber eyecups, providing comfortable viewing experiences. They are particularly well-suited for beginners, including young astronomers who are just starting out as well as anyone 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 produced by these eyepieces is not only pleasingly bright but also impressively sharp from edge to edge. They offer very good image quality, along with comfortable eye relief and a wide apparent field of view, making them perfect for observing deep sky objects.
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?
Best eyepieces for telescopes: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a telescope eyepiece?
Telescope eyepieces are 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 3mm to 50mm are widely available.
What types of telescope eyepieces are there?
Various lens designs are widely used for telescope eyepieces — Plossl, Kellner, Orthoscopic and Radian are the most popular. A number of companies today also offer multi-element designs on a custom basis.
What size eyepiece do I need for my telescope?
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. Check your manual to see which size your telescope is compatible with.
Do I need anything else besides a telescope eyepiece to view the stars?
Yes. You will need a telescope and a tripod in order to view the night sky. We have plenty of guides and pages available to help you pick the right product. Looking for a telescope? Try our guides to the Best Telescopes, Best telescopes for beginners and more niche instruments like the Best telescopes to see planets or the Best telescopes for deep space.
Or seek out the latest deals with our pages on Budget telescopes under $500 or the Telescope deals page.
What do telescope eyepiece numbers and terms mean?
Here is a basic telescope glossary that explains the most common terms and numbers:
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.
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 eyepieces, making our buying guides and reviews reliable and transparent.
