Related: Does a ship's location in planetary orbit relay any sort of information? I haven't seen much but if I had to guess orbitals sit north, your ships sit east, and other players ships sit south. If there is something goin on there cool, if not may I suggest:
North - Orbitals
East - Your automated ships (havesters making rounds, combat ships on patrol as AntiHaze suggested)
South - Your idle ships (those available and waiting for an action)
West - Ships controlled by others

This might also be applied to the sector view for those ships which aren't in planetary orbit, but are just in the sector in general. That way you could tell if your probe is in the middle of its queued exploration or it is awaiting further instructions.