Units are parsecs; positions are galactocentric (+x toward the Sun, +y toward ℓ=90°, +z toward the north galactic pole). Distances and orientations follow published values; star/nebula point sizes are illustrative, not physical.
☉ Sun: 8.15 kpc from the center, 20 pc above the plane. Bar: half-length ≈ 4 kpc, tilted 27°. Arms: 4 logarithmic arms, pitch ≈ 13°, fitted to observed arm tangencies & crossings (Scutum +33° vs. obs. +31°, Sagittarius +44° vs. +50°, Carina at 2.4 kpc vs. ≈2.3 kpc). Arm geometry is still debated — this is one defensible model.
Satellites & globular clusters sit at measured positions (named clusters are catalog entries; the rest of the ~150-cluster halo is a statistical fill-in). Notable stars use Gaia/Hipparcos distances — zoom to the Sun to see them.
The optional constellations layer draws spokes from Sol toward each constellation and an ecliptic ring (the zodiac band, gold labels), plus the IAU stick figures themselves: 703 real stars at their measured Hipparcos distances, so the shapes only line up when viewed from the Sun — zoom right into the Sun and look around. Direction labels are spherical centroids of the stick figures (d3-celestial).
The optional planetary-systems layer shows Sol's eight planets and 17 real exoplanet systems within ~16 pc (51 planets; NASA Exoplanet Archive, controversial candidates omitted; every host star is in the object search above). Orbit planes are real where known — Sol's ecliptic is correctly tilted against the galactic plane, and known transiting systems (TRAPPIST-1, 55 Cnc, LHS 1140) sit edge-on as seen from Sol — and planets animate at their true relative periods (whole systems are uniformly slowed so the fastest planet stays readable). Orbit radii, however, use a compressed, enormously exaggerated scale (∝ a0.6): true AU-scale orbits are far below pixel size on a galactic map.
Sources: GRAVITY Collab. 2019 (R₀); Wegg+ 2015 (bar); Vallée 2014c/2015/2017 (arms); Bennett & Bovy 2019 (z☉); Pietrzyński+ 2019 / Graczyk+ 2020 (LMC/SMC); McConnachie 2012 (dSph); Harris 1996, 2010 ed. (clusters); Bland-Hawthorn & Gerhard 2016 (disk); Stellarium "modern" skyculture (figure topology); HYG v4.0 (figure-star positions & distances); NASA Exoplanet Archive pscomppars (planetary systems).