[Renegade 13]

My interpretation of that episode (just saw it for the first time last night!) was that the constellations they saw were representative of the 12 colonies, but not indicative of their actual physical locations.

Think of it this way: If the constellations were actually indicative of the locations of the colonies, it would be extremely simple using some basic math to determine an approximate volume of space to search for Earth. After all, you have the point of view of Earth (presumably) and the locations of 12 points that are visible from Earth. Easy enough to find.

I think they were just saying "Hey, if we can find where these constellations appear to us as they appear here, Earth will be near!" Noting also certain landmarks such as the Lagoon Nebula. Though that particular sighting bothered me a lot, since the Lagoon nebula is not anywhere near that bright nor large in the sky...on the contrary, I don't think it's even visible to the naked eye...bad science!

My biggest question from that episode is; how the hell did they get out of where they were when they saw the constellations? There was no visible exit point!