An ophthalmic illuminator is disclosed, one embodiment comprising: an illumination source, wherein the illumination source produces an arc; a lens, such as a condensing lens, for focusing light produced by the illumination source arc; and an optical fiber for carrying the focused light to a surgical site, such as an eye. The illumination source is positioned offset from a longitudinal axis of the optical fiber to compensate for shifting of the illumination source arc over time. The offset position can be such that the illumination source is positioned in a vertically offset position from the longitudinal axis of the optical fiber. The longitudinal axis corresponds to the optical path axis of the optical fiber. The ophthalmic illuminator can further comprise a reflector for reflecting the light produced by the illumination source arc, wherein the reflector is positioned offset from the illumination source to decrease the rate of erosion of an illumination source cathode.