If you were to travel far enough away from Earth (we’re talking light-years), the patterns would certainly start to change. But because the stars are so distant compared with the size of our solar system (which is just light-hours across), the projection effect — the patterns of stars we see — from Earth holds true on the other planets circling the Sun. From any planet in the solar system, the same constellations we see here on Earth are visible and recognizable. The biggest difference you’d notice is their orientation in the sky (whether they’re high or low compared to the horizon and zenith), which depends on the orientation of a planet’s poles, as well as your location on the planet. Polaris (Alpha [α] Ursae Minoris) is the North Star when viewed from Earth because of the tilt of its poles, but this is not true from the other planets.
Alison Klesman
Associate Editor