Andromeda and Pisces?

[jjmcgo]

Normally, I wouldn't think to look at the Mt. Washington Observatory webcams at night but the thread about auroras this weekend sent me to the site and I looked at the cams.
In the West cam, at 11 p.m. ET, is that Almaak and Mirach on the arm of Andromeda, starting from the center bottom and arcing upward and left?
And, moving from the center to the right, is that the lower arm of Pisces above M74?
If you enlarge the picture, two of the stars near the bottom are quite red.

 

[vegematic]

Hard to tell...

From such a small picture and not knowing if it points exactly due west. Clearly the lower point sources are valley lights. Try out the sky chart program at Sky & Telescope's website:

Sky Chart Program

I'm not sure M74 would even be in the camera view right now... (also note that the cam image is from 9:45. It'll make a difference on the sky chart.

-vegematic

ETA: Did you mean M15?

 

[swamp]

Hey JJMCGO,
I like and look forward to your posts (this one included). Just be aware that the moderators here are very content specific and are likely to ban your buttocks in a New York minute if you broach such a subject as astonomy.
Stick to hiking and we're all A O K .....

Your Buddy,
Swampy

Normally, I wouldn't think to look at the Mt. Washington Observatory webcams at night but the thread about auroras this weekend sent me to the site and I looked at the cams.
In the West cam, at 11 p.m. ET, is that Almaak and Mirach on the arm of Andromeda, starting from the center bottom and arcing upward and left?
And, moving from the center to the right, is that the lower arm of Pisces above M74?
If you enlarge the picture, two of the stars near the bottom are quite red.

 

[forestgnome]

ICBWB, my guess is that naked-eye sky watching ( as opposed to scientific astronomy ) over the mountain regions is considered on topic. The vftt includes lots of sky, and often times star gazing is one of the best memories of a hiking/camping trip. Many city-dwellers see only the moon until they go hiking/camping, so the night sky over the forest is wonderful.

Vegematic's link is the best on-line sky chart available, IMO.

The red "stars" on the image from the West View Webcam are probably what are called "hot pixels", not lights from buildings. Hot pixels are a problem with digital night photography, where a pixel shows red instead of black. I would check the webcam during the day to see if the view includes any buildings that may be lit at night.

Here is an aurora picture I took Thursaday night. There is a hot pixel directly over the observatory. Enlarge the picture if you can't see it at first.

Happy Trails

 

[jjmcgo]

I see what you mean

There are red dots all over the face of the mountain, too.

 

[jjmcgo]

Thanks, Vegematic

That site is very handy. You can click on the large celestial map and get a zoom-in map in the adjacent box, and then move it around. I love it.
M15 is on the other side of Pegasus from where I'm thinking I'm seeing. I'm seeing the arm of Andromeda that hooks to Pegasus at Shirraz, a star that would be just off the high left side of the screen.
M74 lies between Aries Sheratan and Eta Piscium, the area that I thought I was looking at.
As for this being off topic, a knowledge of astronomy is useful for night navigation. The monthly star chart from Astronomy or Sky and Telescope, placed in a ziplock bag, would be a near-weightless useful thing to have in your pack.
Staying put at night is wiser, generally, but there are situations when you might need to be moving, i.e., seeking help for another, a cell-phone call from a buddy that the vehicle in your girlfriend's driveway is NOT YOUR TRUCK, etc.

 

[Nessmuk]

That site is very handy. You can click on the large celestial map and get a zoom-in map in the adjacent box, and then move it around. I love it.
M15 is on the other side of Pegasus from where I'm thinking I'm seeing. I'm seeing the arm of Andromeda that hooks to Pegasus at Shirraz, a star that would be just off the high left side of the screen.
M74 lies between Aries Sheratan and Eta Piscium, the area that I thought I was looking at.
As for this being off topic, a knowledge of astronomy is useful for night navigation. The monthly star chart from Astronomy or Sky and Telescope, placed in a ziplock bag, would be a near-weightless useful thing to have in your pack.

S&T is a long respected resource. I have been a subscriber and still have every single copy since 1963 (my interest in astronomy started at a very young age ). Another very good online resource is heavens-above.com. You can get real time satellite visibiliity predictions as well as star charts there.