Many observers feel that a 68° field eyepiece like this Explore Scientific hits the “sweet spot" between the affordable, but “looking down a tube" view of 45°-50° field eyepieces, and the full-immersion, but very expensive, observing experience of an ultra-wide field 82° or 100° eyepiece.

The 16mm 68° Explore Scientific works with any telescope from a fast focal ratio reflector to a long focal length refractor. It’s particularly good with Dobsonians and fast focal ratio refractors, providing high magnification with a very wide field of view for observing globular clusters and compact nebulas. It provides a substantial 0.95° field of view (nearly twice the diameter of the full Moon) and a bright 3.55mm exit pupil with a 10" f/4.5 Dobsonian at 71x. You can use the calculator below to see just how wide the field will be with your particular scope.

The eye relief of this six lens/fully multicoated optical system is an acceptable 12mm. The field is vignetted somewhat for those with severe astigmatism whomust wear eyeglasses while observing, but markedly less so than with many competitive eyepieces. The eyepiece has a soft fold-down rubber eyecup and comes with dust covers for both ends of the eyepiece.

This individually serial numbered Explore Scientific product is backed by a limited one year warranty, which will be extended to an Explore Scientific STARlifetime transferrable limited warranty when the product warranty card is registered with Explore Scientific within 60 days of purchase.