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 will likely be the most expensive piece of stargazing gear you're likely to purchase, but adding top-quality accessories will open up a whole new world and an even more immersive and enjoyable experience. A decent eyepiece is one of the most essential telescope accessories you should invest in.
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.
Remember, Amazon Prime Day 2023 is just around the corner, and while we don't yet know which products will be on offer, other retailers often run discounts around this period as well.
Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023
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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.
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.
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.
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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 performance is top-notch performance across the whole range — focal lengths from 8mm to 50mm are available to suit almost any telescope you'd wish to use them on. They are particularly suited to high-power (high-magnification) planetary observing. This is largely because of their narrow apparent field of view (you can't see much of the sky at one time).
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.
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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.
They come in a range of focal lengths — 3.55mm to 31mm — and are suitable for any style of observation. Blackened lens edges and anti-reflection threads deliver maximum contrast, and the huge 82-degree apparent field really draws you into the view. You must 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.
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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.
In this set, the included eyepieces range from 5mm to 24mm focal lengths. Due to their barrel design, these eyepieces fit both 1.25-inch and 2-inch focusers, handy. In addition to their generous 20mm eye relief — great news for spectacle wearers and extended viewing sessions — these eyepieces have a large 68-degree apparent field of view (FOV) to see more of the sky at once, making them well-suited for all kinds of observing.
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The Celestron Omni Plossl eyepiece range offers an excellent entry-level range into the higher quality 4-element Plossl design. They are of fantastic quality given the price of less than $50 per eyepiece and much cheaper for the shorter focal lengths.
We know looks aren't everything, but they do look stylish and premium, with a lovely gloss aluminum finish on one half of the barrel and a sophisticated matte gray finish on the other. Each element is thoughtfully designed to reduce distortions and color fringing (chromatic aberration). The inside of the barrel is black to minimize internal reflections.
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.
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The Celestron Luminos eyepiece range represents the replacement for the now discontinued but previously popular Axiom eyepieces.
The Luminos are an improved high-end design but still weigh less 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. Each eyepiece has multi-coated lenses to improve light transmission and blackened edges to stop leaking out of the side of the barrel.
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.
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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.
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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 is sharp and well-corrected, and the eye cups give a generous 16mm eye relief making them ideal for spectacle wearers and comfortable for long skywatching sessions. The more expensive X-Cel versions have twist-up eyecups, while this version (with LX at the end) has fold-up eyecups. The lenses are fully multi-coated, meaning there is more than one coating layer on all air-to-glass surfaces — this reduces reflections and improves light transmission.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
