18mm Meade Series 5000 UHD Telescope Eyepiece

UHD stands for Ultra-High Definition, and with the 8-element lens configuration you get pinpoint image sharpness from the center to the edge of the field in the 18mm Meade Series 5000 UHD Telescope Eyepiece. This high-quality eyepiece features a 5 group/8 element system with fully multi-coated premium-grade optical glass, combined with blackened lens edges for the best possible image correction in color, contrast, and brightness. The blackened lens edges help prevent errant light from bouncing around inside the eyepiece, reducing reflections and glare while also boosting contrast. The 65° field of view provides a much wider field than a standard Plössl, providing a more immersive feel when viewing through the eyepiece.

The large number of elements present in this UHD eyepiece help to provide extremely good correction throughout the field of view. Both field curvature and distortion are kept to a minimum, providing pin-point stars across the field, and the design provides for a 40% improvement in corrections for chromatic aberration and edge distortions over a traditional Plössl design. The wide 65° apparent field helps frame larger objects through the telescope, and also keeps small objects at high power (such as planets) in the field longer if you are using a manual telescope that does not automatically track with the object. If your telescope focal length is fairly long, it can be difficult to frame large deep-sky objects into a single field without having to pan around to see the entirety of the object. With a 65° field of view, many large dusty nebulae or expansive spiral galaxies will fit into the eyepiece, giving you an immersive and enjoyable experience. As a benchmark, in a 1000mm focal length telescope, the magnification will be 55.6x, and the field of view is 1.2°. And in a shorter telescope such as an 80mm f/6 refractor (480mm focal length), the magnification is 27x with a very wide 2.4° field of view. 18mm is an excellent medium-low magnification focal length eyepiece to have in your collection. Ideal for large deep-sky objects in medium to short focal length telescopes, and excellent for lunar and planetary detail in medium to long focal length telescopes, especially if utilizing a Barlow lens to boost the magnification.

The 18mm Series 5000 UHD eyepiece is also parfocal with the other eyepieces in the UHD line, meaning there will be little to no focus change when switching between eyepieces. It features 20mm eye relief, excellent if you wish to leave your glasses on when viewing. Also included are lens caps and a rubber eyeguard that can fold down when using glasses for a scratch free experience that also allows you to see the entire field of view when wearing glasses. The 18mm UHD is threaded for 1.25" filters and weighs 7.9 oz (225g), with dimensions of 55mm x 81mm.