Best Telescope Eyepieces

Tips for beginners:  Choosing eyepieces for your starter telescopes

Eyepieces generally come in three barrel sizes or diameters: 0.965 inches, 1.25 inches or 2 inches. The standard size is 1.25 inches and is the best beginner telescope eyepiece size to have.

The barrel size of your eyepiece determines your field of view, i.e. how much of the sky you can actually see through the eyepiece. The larger ones will show more of the sky for a given focal length and apparent field than the smaller ones. The size of your telescope focuser (for reflectors) or diagonal (for refractors) determines the barrel size of your eyepieces.

Choosing an eyepiece is basically selecting your required magnification – which is determined by the focal length of the eyepiece.

Unless you are buying a kiddie telescope for your kid, avoid plastic lenses and go for the quality and durability afforded by glass lenses.

In short, when shopping for eyepieces, you need to consider 3 criteria:-

• Barrel size – pre-determined by your telescope;
• Focal length – depends on the magnification required; and
• Lens material – glass gives quality and durability over plastic lenses.