What Eyepiece Is Best For Planets?

You have a few options for the best eyepieces to view planets, but Orion’s accessory kit stands out among them all. Their planetary eyepiece kit offers outstanding value for money and comes with a range of focal lengths.

Some people might find five eyepieces is overkill, but to view planets, you will be glad you made the choice!

Depending on how visible the planet you want to view, the 40mm eyepiece is usually the best option! It will allow you to zoom in on planets and see them with amazing clarity compared to others on the market.

They also fit all telescopes with a 1.25-inch focuser, meaning they are usually suitable for most people! 

The eyepieces offer a clear and sharp contrast image that lets you view planets with ease and clarity that you aren’t always afforded at this price point!

The eyepieces all come with five planetary filters and a moon filter to ensure you have the best viewing possible! If you can, we strongly recommend these eyepieces to view planets. 

If they aren’t suitable for your telescope, it's best to have a high magnification eyepiece to view planets. The higher level of magnification allows you to zoom in on planets and see them with excellent clarity.

Check reviews of eyepieces before you buy them to ensure that their magnification allows you to clearly view the planets.

What Magnification Do You Need To See Saturn’s Rings?

You can see Saturn’s rings with a magnification of 25x. Even the smallest telescope should be able to pick up and show Saturn and her rings to you.

It’s worth noting, though, that smaller telescopes with a 25x magnification aren’t going to show you Saturn as well as larger telescopes will. 

On a smaller telescope, you will be able to see Saturn and her rings, but not in that much detail. The rings might look like one or two rings rather than as separate rings surrounding the planet. 

However, if you went for a bigger telescope, say 3-inches or larger, you will see Saturn’s rings in a different light! A 3-inch telescope with a 50x magnification will show Saturn’s rings as a separate structure detached on all sides from the ball of the planet.

You should see the rings more clearly, too, as individual rings rather than a blur across the planet. 

Larger scopes again, such as those with 4 to 8-inch apertures, will show the planet in even more detail! These telescopes will show Saturn as more three-dimensional, allowing you to have a more enjoyable viewing experience!

You are more likely to see Saturn in this way on a clear night with a larger telescope. 

Although you can use a smaller scope and a 25x magnification to see Saturn’s rings, where possible, we think it's best to opt for a larger telescope and higher magnification to see more of the beautiful planet and her rings. 

What Eyepiece Is Best For The Moon?

A fantastic eyepiece to view the moon is in Celestron’s Eyepiece and Filter Accessory kit. Designed for use on 1.25-inch telescopes, the kit features a moon filter on its lenses that allows you to zoom in and enjoy clarity and a high contrast image! 

We would opt for the lens with the highest magnification and the largest lens (32mm) to view the moon with this kit. You can be assured of high quality and contrast with this lens, allowing you to zoom in and view the moon.

The other eyepieces included feature colored filters that will come in handy when viewing other planets in the night sky, not just the moon! 

If this eyepiece is unsuitable for you, we recommend opting for an eyepiece with high magnification. Anything with over 50x magnification will allow you to view the moon with more clarity.

As a general rule, when viewing any moon, you will want an eyepiece with high magnification to see the moon clearly and with lots of detail! 

Our moon is fairly close to us; a good magnification will allow you to see some detail on the moon without needing an overly fancy telescope! Magnification of 140x has allowed people to see more detail and the whole moon when the skies are clear.

It’s always worth checking reviews of the eyepieces before you purchase or photographs of users using it on the moon to give you an idea of what you can expect. 

What Eyepiece Is Best For Galaxies? 

As a general rule, to view galaxies, an eyepiece of 10mm-13.9mm is best. These work well for all objects, especially brighter nebulas, and galaxies when viewed on high magnification.

You will want the magnification to be of good quality, too, so be sure to check the reviews and images taken to see that the eyepiece is capable of high quality at higher magnification elves. 

For globular clusters, galaxy details, and planetary nebulae, you will want a larger eyepiece. A 14mm to 17.9mm will suffice and allow you to see these galaxies in detail when on a mid-range magnification.

Again, you will want these eyepieces to have a good quality magnification for best results. 

Larger eyepieces again will allow you to see galaxy clusters and large open clusters. Any eyepiece ranging from 18mm to 30.9mm will allow you to do this. Again, check the power and clarity of its magnification to ensure that you can see the galaxies you want clearly. 

A magnification of around 40x usually suffices and will allow you to enjoy galaxies with some clarity! You could opt for any of the accessory kits that we mentioned earlier, or if you have the money, give Explore’s Scientific 40mm eyepiece a try! 

It's an expensive option, but the 40mm eyepiece has a large viewing angle that allows you to soak up galaxies and bring you closer to them than before! It features a strong and durable build quality and should feel natural on the eye, but be warned that it can feel a little heavy!