About this sky

Every point of light here is a real star, plotted where it actually sits in space and seen from just outside the solar system. There are 10,363 of them, most within a few hundred light years of the Sun. The camera is a narrow 12 degree window, like a telescope, so only a sliver of the sky is on screen at once. Drag to sweep the rest. The five stars of the Southern Cross are drawn larger than the others so that they're easier to use for navigation.