Alps Moonlight

The Austrian Alps in Tyrol are softly illuminated by moonlight in this clear January night. The iconic part of constellation Pisces, the two fish, are framed above the mountains, a pentagon of stars just south of Pegasus that shows the western fish. It is an asterism known as the circlet, famous for marking the Vernal Equinox point, where the sun is located at the beginning of spring (in the northern hemisphere). Down on the ground peaks from the left to right are Hoher Burgstall (2611 m), Schlicker Seespitze (2804 m), Riepenwand (2774 m), Grosse Ochsenwand (2700 m), and Kleine Ochsenwand (2553 m). Villages Fulpmes and Mieders appear in the valley. Click on the second photo to see a wide-angle view of this scene.