pupil, in optical systems, the virtual image of an aperture associated with mirrors, prisms, and lenses and their combinations. The Figure shows the case of an optical system composed of two lenses with a stop between them. The virtual image of the aperture for lens I (as seen from the object point) is called the entrance pupil. The amount of light leaving the object and traversing the system is limited, in effect, by the entrance pupil, just as it is actually by the stop aperture. The image of the aperture for lens II is the exit pupil. In general, an optical system has one effective aperture, and the entrance pupil is formed by all lenses preceding the stop, whereas the exit pupil is formed by all lenses following it.
In visual instruments, the exit pupil falls at the eye position. In the microscope and telescope the objective acts as the aperture, its image is the exit pupil, and all light reaching the objective passes through the exit pupil. Thus, it is important for the exit pupil to be no larger than the pupillary diameter of the eye to take advantage of the light-gathering power of the instrument.