1. The list in brief ↴
2. Best overall
3. Best for optical quality
4. Best all-rounder
5. Best bundle
6. Best range of choice
7. Best for eyeglasses
8. Best for high-power observing
9. Best eyepieces FAQs
10. How we test
Having the best eyepieces for telescopes as part of your night sky watching gear can really take your experience to the next level. If you're a new telescope user, you might be happy using the default eyepiece(s) that your telescope comes with. But upgrading to something better can make a world of difference, opening up your telescope's capabilities in a whole new way.
Even one of the best telescopes on the market isn't going to be performing at its best if it's paired with a disappointing eyepiece. They don't have to break the bank, either. Sure, some of the best eyepieces for telescopes can be very expensive, but we've made sure we've selected a range that encompasses all different price points to suit all budgets.
Photographers have a range of lenses for their camera, each one suited to a specific type of photography, and the same is true of astronomers and their telescopes. It pays to have a selection of eyepieces, with different ones being suited to different types of stargazing. Whether you want to get a close look at the moon's craters or gaze far into deep space, you'll need a specific eyepiece that's best equipped for the job. On our list, you'll find a selection of eyepieces, all suited to different types of telescope use.
Before you get started, though, you'll need to make sure what eyepieces are compatible with your telescope — not every eyepiece will work with every scope. If you need some guidance, head to our best eyepieces for telescopes FAQs at the bottom of this page.
The quick list
Best overall
You won't get better eyepieces than these, but they come with a big price tag. They're best for lunar and planetary viewing.
Best for optical quality
The Plossl, like all Tele Vue eyepieces, isn't cheap, but it has exceptional optical quality and performance.
Best all rounder
No matter what type of stargazing you're wanting to do, you won't be disappointed with these eyepieces, although they are best suited to advanced or professional astronomers.
Best bundle
Why have one eyepiece when you can have seven? Provided you've got the budget to splash out on them all at once, this offers excellent value for money.
Best for range of choice
Amongst the cheapest on our list of best eyepieces, the Celestron Omni Plossl still offer excellent, clear views.
Best for eyeglasses
The eye relief on these eyepieces is unparalleled, but with excellent quality and fantastic views of the moon, planets and deep-sky objects, it's not all the Celestron Luminos has going for them.
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Best for high power observing
If you're observing planets or the moon, you'll love the sharpness than the multi-coated lenses of the Celestron X-Cel LX provides.
Best eyepieces for telescopes 2024
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Best overall
✅ You want the best of the best: — and have the budget to match! These are possibly the best eyepieces available, so it'll come as no surprise to hear that they are very expensive. So if you want the best quality and have the money to spend these are the ones to beat.
❌ You don't have a big budget: These eyepieces come with a pretty big price tag, so you'll need a big budget to be able to afford them.
🔎 Tele Vue Ethos Eyepieces Simply the best of the best. Our only criticism is that they're very expensive — but that's what you get for the best, so we can't fault them for that. Excellent build quality, incredible optics and superb performance. ★★★★★
To get the absolute best of the best eyepieces for telescopes, you're going to have to cough up a lot of money. The Tele Vue Ethos don't come cheap by any means, but you get what you pay for: The quality of these eyepieces is unrivalled, and you'll find little else on the market that offers optics anywhere near as this good.
We love the Ethos' 100-degree field of view — one of the most impressive on this list — making viewing the night sky an absolute joy, especially coupled with its fantastic optical quality. But their generous eye relief is also a huge plus too: If you use glasses, you should be able to use these eyepieces without a problem.
These eyepieces are compatible with Dobsonian telescopes and provide an outstanding viewing experience due to their superb optical quality. Whether you're using the Tele Vue Ethos eyepiece to gaze at star clusters or to admire a colorful nebula, you're in for an incredibly immersive journey through the night sky.
While the price of the Tele Vue Ethos eyepieces may deter some, if it fits within your budget, we strongly recommend considering purchasing one. They are indeed expensive, but in return, you get outstanding quality, performance and a truly premium product.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Excellent build quality. |
| Performance | Supert optical performance and generous eye relief. |
| Functionality | Vast apparent FOV. |
Best for optical quality
✅ You focus on lunar and planetary viewing: Their narrow FOV makes them fantastic for viewing details on the moon and the planets.
❌ You want to do deep sky viewing: The narrow FOV makes them great for lunar and planetary viewing but less so for deep sky observations.
🔎 Tele Vue Plossl Eyepieces They're among some of the best available, but that's reflected in the price. Brilliant for lunar and planetary viewing, but not suited for deep-sky observations. ★★★★½
Once again, Tele Vue has made our list of the best eyepiece for telescopes, and it's no surprise, given the company's prioritization of high quality products. And unlike the Ethos above, which require a Dobsonian telescope to use, the Plossl eyepiece range can be used with practically every type of telescope out there.
They're much more affordable too, though despite the huge price different from the Ethos eyepieces, you'll still find excellent quality optics that will enhance your skywatching experience.
On these eyepieces, you'll find internal anti-reflection threads, fully multi-coated lenses and blackened lens edges. Together, it means you've got some of the best eyepieces for telescopes on the market, and lenses that offer incredibly clear and sharp images.
The Tele Vue Plossl eyepieces offer outstanding performance across their entire range of focal lengths, ranging from 8mm to 50mm. They can be used with nearly any telescope you choose. With their narrow apparent field of view, they're perfect for observing planets at high magnification, enabling you to study fine details without too much sky cluttering the background.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Internal anti-reflection threads, blackened lens edges and fully multi-coated lenses. |
| Performance | Exceptional performance throughout their entire range of focal lengths. |
| Functionality | Narrow FOV makes them fantastic for lunar and planetary viewing. |
Best all rounder
✅ You want the very best in optical quality: These are widely regarded as the best eyepieces available in terms of optical and mechanical quality, full stop. However, the downside of this is that they're only really accessible if...
❌ You're not an advanced user: If you consider yourself to be a beginner, enthusiast or intermediate user, you'll likely be priced out of buying these.
🔎 Tele Vue Nagler Eyepieces The creme de le creme of telescope eyepieces, but they are mostly reserved for professionals and advanced users due to their very hefty price tag. ★★★★½
Yes, the first three picks of the best eyepieces for telescopes are going to Tele Vue. There's a very good reason, however: despite these eyepieces being very expensive, they are unrivaled in their field. The Tele Vue Nagler range offers up some of the best eyepieces you can find, designed to give the user a spacewalk-like experience. The idea? To make you forget you're using a telescope and feel like you're right there floating in the middle of space. Could you really ask for more?
While these eyepieces are not as expensive as the Tele Vue Ethos at the top of this list, they're still hardly budget-priced. And for that reason, we can only really recommend the Tele Vue Nagler to advanced or professional astronomers — well, unless you're a beginner with a big budget. Regardless, you won't be disappointed, and we think the Nagler eyepieces are well worth their steep asking price.
They're wonderful no matter what you want to view: an 82-degree field of view means you've got an immersive view across the night sky, and blackened lens edges and anti-reflection threads mean you're always getting a fantastic contrast.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Blackened lens edges and anti-reflection threads to ensure maximum contrast. |
| Performance | Designed to give the user a spacewalk-like experience. |
| Functionality | Caters to any type of viewing. |
Best bundle
✅ You want to do all types of observations: They offer a wide FOV, making them suitable for all types of observations, from lunary and planetary to deep sky viewing.
✅ You want the best bang for your buck: While buying the set is substantially more expensive than just buying one or two individually, you'll save money if you want all the focal lengths in the set.
❌ You're on a budget: While you do save money buying the set than purchasing each one individually, it's a pretty hefty initial investment, so not particularly accessible if you're on a budget.
🔎 Baader Hyperion Eyepiece set with hard case: Highly regarded by astronomers for its surprisingly excellent build quality and incredibly high-quality optics, including multi-coated lenses. ★★★★½
Buying seven eyepieces in one go doesn't come cheap, but if you want a ready-made collection in one easy purchase, we can't help but recommend this Baader Hyperion eyepiece set. Not only does it come in a sturdy travel case, but the eyepieces within are excellent quality, with an eyepiece to suit just about every occasion.
Baader is a trusted brand in the astronomy field, and has a reputation of creating high-quality products, so you know you're making a worthwhile purchase here. Whether you're an amateur or a professional, you'll find this set of eyepieces to be impressive. And if purchasing all seven at once isn't feasible, you have the option to buy the eyepieces individually.
Astronomers praise this set for its superb build quality and high-quality optics, with all eyepieces featuring multi-coated lenses. You'll find a variety of focal lengths in the full set, ranging from 5mm to 24mm. Happily, their barrel design will fit focusers between 1.25 and 2 inches, making them suitable for a wide range of users. Their wide field of view (68 degrees) is great, too, allowing users to see more of the sky in one go.
We must also praise the eye relief on the Baader Hyperion eyepieces: they're 20mm deep, making them great for people who wear glasses.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Excellent build quality. |
| Performance | Produce incredibly sharp and clear images. |
| Functionality | Wide FOV makes them good for all type of observations. |
Best for range of choice
✅ You're on a budget: For a four-element 1.25-inch eyepiece, they're incredibly affordable and good value.
❌ Your want to view deep sky objects: They are usable for deep sky viewing, but their narrow field of view doesn't make them the ideal choice for that. They're better for lunar and planetary observations.
🔎 Celestron Omni Plossl Eyepieces These are a fantastic entry-level range into the high-quality Plossl design. They're excellent quality, especially given the price, and provide excellent planetary and lunar views. ★★★★
Not only do we love our affordable the Celestron Omni Plossl eyepieces are — costing somewhere between $20 and $50 per eyepiece — we love that they're surprisingly great quality, too. If you're buying from a trusted brand like Celestron you don't need to break the bank to get a quality product.
Despite their budget-friendly price, you're getting a premium eyepiece here. They look stylish, and more expensive than they actually are, but most of all their build quality stands out as being exceptionally high quality. In use, they're great too, with minimal distortion and chromatic aberration. Their internal black barrels have also been designed to reduce reflections, meaning every view of the night sky is crystal clear.
In the Celestron Omni Plossl range, you'll find different focal lengths ranging from 4mm to 56mm. They all produce wonderfully sharp images, although we found they're better suited to planetary and lunar observations rather than deep sky viewing. Thanks to their narrow apparent field you can use them for deep sky observations, but there are better choices on the market. For planets and moons, though, you can't go wrong: You'll get to enjoy beautifully clear images.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Stylish and good quality design. |
| Performance | Produce sharp and clear images. |
| Functionality | Narow FOV makes them less suited for deep sky viewing. |
Best for eyeglasses
✅ You wear glasses: They have 12-27mm eye relief, making them comfortable and convenient for anyone who wears glasses.
✅ You want to view a range of subjects: They're great for viewing the moon and planets, but will also serve you well when you're exploring galaxies and nebulas, too.
❌ You're on a budget: They're on the more expensive side, especially the 2-inch sizes, so if you're on a budget we'd suggest a different design.
🔎 Celestron Luminos Eyepieces They're high quality, are designed well and provide excellent views of the moon, planets, and deep-sky objects like nebulas and galaxies. They have generous eye relief and multi-coated lenses. ★★★★
The excellent Luminos range of eyepieces from Celestron has replaced the previous Axiom range of eyepieces. They're familiar, but in many ways, they're very much upgraded.
The Celestron Luminos eyepieces have a high-end design, yet they're lighter than the Axiom range they've replaced. With twist-up eyecups and parfocal eyepieces, they're a joy to use, allowing for easy transitioning between high and low-power views without needing much refocusing.
Thanks to their blackened edged and multi-coated lenses, the Celestron Luminos eyepieces are capable of giving excellent contrast and amongst the best light transmission you could hope for. We're also impressed by the wide field of view of the Luminos: 82 degrees, allowing you a rich and immersive view of the night sky.
However, it's worth noting that while most of the Celestron Luminos eyepiece range is available in 1.25 to 2-inch barrel sizes, the 19mm, 23mm and 31mm are only available for 2-inch barrels.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Upgraded, more high-end design than it's predecessor. |
| Performance | Great for viewing the moon, planets and deep sky objects. |
| Functionality | Comfortable eye relief. |
Best for high power observing
✅ You want to observe the planets: These large magnification eyepieces are ideal for observing the moon and planets.
✅ You wear glasses: They feature a generous 16mm of eye relief, making them comfortable for users with glasses.
❌ You want twist-up eyecups: These have fold-up eyecups, whereas the pricier X-Cel versions have twist-up eyecups.
🔎 Celestron X-Cel LX Eyepieces We think this is a good quality, reasonably-priced choice that's definitely worth considering. They are well suited to high-power observing and the image quality is great. ★★★½
The Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces come in seven different focal lengths, all ideal for high-power observations of planets and moons. Despite this, their wide apparent field of view of 60 degrees allows you to navigate the sky easily, no matter what you're observing.
We love the image quality of the Celestron X-Cel LX eyepieces. They offer sharp and high-contrast views, and their generous 16mm eye relief makes them a good choice for glasses-wearers (or simply anyone wanting to settle in for an extended stargazing session). It's worth noting that these particular eyepieces are fold-up eyecups: the pricier X-Cel versions come with twist-up eyecups. Look for the 'LX' at the end to distinguish the difference.
The X-Cel eyepieces are fully multi-coated, minimizing reflections and offering the best possible light transmission. It means that your views through these eyepieces are crystal clear, bright and beautiful. Additionally, the interior of the eyepieces are blackened, reducing reflections even 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.
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| Attributes | Notes |
|---|---|
| Design | Fully multi coated optics. |
| Performance | Great image quality with sharp and well-corrected views. |
| Functionality | Generous 16mm eye relief. |
Best eyepieces for telescopes FAQs
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
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.
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