Equatorial mount for a binocular reflecting telescope

摘要

An equatorial mount for supporting a binocular reflecting telescope having two Cassegrain or Schmidt-Cassegrain reflecting mirror units having the same aperture and the same focal length. The equatorial mount includes a pedestal, a polar shaft (first shaft) supported obliquely by the pedestal. A second shaft is rotatably supported in a support barrel coupled to the polar shaft. A third shaft is rotatably supported in a second support barrel provided at the bottom end of the first support barrel. Counterweights are screwed onto a threaded rod so as to extend from the free end of a V-shaped crank which is mounted on the free end of the second shaft. Another counterweight is screwed onto another threaded rod mounted inside of the crank and extends in the same direction as the crank. The equatorial mount has a greater degree of freedom of rotation compared with a German-style equatorial mount, because it has the third shaft.