eli5 If we are a spinning ball – spinning in our own solar system – which is spinning within an arm of a galaxy – why are the constellations in the same place?

Question

eli5 If we are a spinning ball – spinning in our own solar system – which is spinning within an arm of a galaxy – why are the constellations in the same place?

In: Physics

Answer 1

A decent analogy would be to think about living in Manhattan – you might move around the city all over but whenever someone asks you what direction San Francisco is, it’s always realllllly realllly close to the exact same direction because it’s “so far” away. But stars are a lot further.