Final answer:
The Sun appears near the center of the galaxy due to our location in the Orion Spur. The long fingers of stars in the galaxy are a result of its spiral structure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Sun appears to be near the center of the galaxy because we are located in the Orion Spur, a short arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. This arm contains prominent features such as the Cygnus Rift and the Orion Nebula. However, from an outside perspective, the galaxy is shaped like a disk with a small bulge in the center.
The reason there are long fingers of stars in our galaxy is due to its spiral structure. The stars in the galaxy are distributed in a thin, circular, rotating disk. The spiral arms of the galaxy extend outward from the central bulge, creating these long fingers of stars.