With an Orion Narrow Side-by-Side Plate you can easily mount two telescope optical
tubes to a single mount.
The Narrow Side-by-Side plate attaches to an EQ mount equipped with a narrow,
or "Vixen-style" dovetail saddle, and accepts optical tubes outfitted
with a narrow dovetail mounting plate. You can also mount an optical tube that
is equipped with tube rings attached to a narrow dovetail mounting plate.
Having two telescopes mounted side-by-side is a great way to expand your visual
observational abilities. You can, for example, attach one telescope optimized
for wide-field views and another for high magnification use. Once you have the
mount trained on a target object, you can alternate between wide-field and high-magnification
views by looking through the two different telescopes. Imagine going to a star-party
and showing off a powerful view of Jupiter's red spot region through one telescope
AND a wider view of Jupiter's disk and bright moons through another telescope
on the same mount - talk about a crowd-pleaser!
For astro-imaging pursuits, an Orion Narrow Side-by-Side plate allows you to
mount an imaging telescope and guide scope next to each other instead of in
a "piggyback" orientation. This can help reduce tracking errors and
simplify your astro-imaging setup. What's more, you can easily swap out telescopes
when using a Side-by-Side Plate if you wish to change your imaging or guide
scope instruments in the middle of a lengthy imaging session.
Using a Side-by-Side Plate can reduce the amount of counterweight needed, since
both mounted instruments are closer to the mount's pivot point compared to telescopes
mounted piggyback. The distance between the two plates is 9 inches. The Narrow
Side-by-Side plate measures 11.5 inches wide. Each narrow dovetail saddle measures
9 inches long and 2.5 inches wide. The entire assembly is 1.5 inches in height
and weighs 3.85 lbs.
Two telescopes are better than one, and with an Orion Narrow Side-by-Side plate
you can enjoy two telescopes on one mount!
