A type of equatorial mounting consisting of an open-ended two-pronged fork, which forms the polar axis, with the telescope pivoted between the prongs of the fork on a declination axis. The design provides access to all parts of the sky and does not need a counterbalance, but is unsuitable for refractors or long-focus reflectors as the forks would need to be very long. A version of the fork mounting is often used on Schmidt–Cassegrain telescopes.