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Rarely, star fields in science fiction are pulled from ordinary star charts (or digital equivalent). This is usually a bad idea since the sky elsewhere in deep space out among the stars would not look the same as here on Earth. The constellations would be different, in proportion to distance from Earth in interstellar space.

Attached below is an example of this sort of "bad choice" that I spotted recently. Recognize anything?? :) Here's a serious navigation question to ponder: given that sky, what is your maximum reasonable distance from Earth? This is really a type of "piloting" navigation rather than celestial. Think of the stars in interstellar space like buoys. If you see two buoys aligned in your favorite harbor, you know you're on a line that passes through them. We can do the same in interstellar space. The stars will be aligned differently as we move away from Earth.

Frank Reed
PS: Trivia... Name the franchise (the family of shows). That's easy -- see ears. Name the show. Not too difficult if you recognize the "Quantum..." actor on the left. Name the episode. Not easy!

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