Upon release of the Earth from the center of things, these data begin to draw something with a recognizable shape. Two centuries after Herschel's drawing, it was known not only the shape of our galaxy, but also the shape of countless others. Few resemble Herschel's drawing.
The band of stars named the Milky Way is not scattered aimlessly around a vaguely central Earth. Humans walk within a massive disc, and it appears from Earth as a cross-section. Much like a wide band of humans, in such number to fill the frame of vision - standing within the crowd, one might consider others in terms of relative distance, with higher importance to those in proximity: those with discernible detail and more immediate effect on the environment of the observer.
Like continents and constellations, The Milky Way is essentially frozen in time to human observers. Humans are moving swiftly about, however, and the shape shifts with the population, much faster than both mountains and the weather. It is the shape of Earth in human passage.
Herschel's drawing from Harvard, diagram from Arizona State, and the crowd from WYES.
