Example of how to place objects at the surface of a sphere with the correct axes. Created in response to https://forum.libcinder.org/#Topic/23286000001779023 .

PointOnSphereApp.cpp

#include "cinder/app/AppNative.h"
#include "cinder/gl/gl.h"
#include "cinder/Camera.h"
#include "cinder/MayaCamUI.h"

using namespace ci;
using namespace ci::app;
using namespace std;

class PointOnSphereApp : public AppNative {
public:
    void setup();
	void update();
	void draw();

	void resize();

	void mouseDown( MouseEvent event );	
	void mouseDrag( MouseEvent event );	
private:
	CameraPersp	mCamera;
	MayaCamUI	mMayaCam;
};

void PointOnSphereApp::setup()
{
	// initialize our camera
	mCamera.setEyePoint( Vec3f(0.f, 0.f, -400.f) );
	mCamera.setCenterOfInterestPoint( Vec3f(0.f, 0.f, 0.f) );
}

void PointOnSphereApp::update()
{
	// nothing to update
}

void PointOnSphereApp::draw()
{
	// clear the window
	gl::clear(); 

	// enable depth buffer and setup camera
	gl::enableDepthRead();
	gl::enableDepthWrite();

	gl::setMatrices( mCamera );

	// draw our 'shapes'
	gl::color( Color::white() );

	float radius = 100.0f;

	for(int longitude=-180; longitude<180; longitude+=20)
	{
		for(int latitude=-80; latitude<=80; latitude+=20)
		{
			Matrix44f transform;
			// turn according to position on Earth
			transform.rotate( Vec3f(0.0f, toRadians((float)longitude), 0.0f) );
			transform.rotate( Vec3f(toRadians((float)-latitude), 0.0f, 0.0f) );
			// place on surface of Earth
			transform.translate( Vec3f(0.0f, 0.0f, radius) );

			// now that we have constructed our transform matrix,
			// multiply the current modelView matrix with it
			gl::pushModelView();
			gl::multModelView( transform );

			// now we can simply draw something at the origin, 
			// as if we haven't rotated at all
			gl::drawCoordinateFrame(10.f, 1.f, 1.f);

			// restore the modelView matrix to undo the transformation,
			// so it doesn't interfere with the next shape
			gl::popModelView();
		}
	}

	// draw a translucent black sphere to make the shapes at the back appear darker
	gl::color( ColorA(0, 0, 0, 0.8f) );
	gl::enableAlphaBlending();
	gl::enable( GL_CULL_FACE );
	gl::drawSphere( Vec3f::zero(), radius, 60 );
	gl::disable( GL_CULL_FACE );
	gl::disableAlphaBlending();
	
	// disable depth buffer
	gl::disableDepthRead();
	gl::disableDepthWrite();
}

void PointOnSphereApp::resize()
{
	// adjust the camera's aspect ratio if the window resizes
	mCamera.setAspectRatio( getWindowAspectRatio() );
}

void PointOnSphereApp::mouseDown( MouseEvent event )
{
	// use the maya camera helper to control our camera
	mMayaCam.setCurrentCam( mCamera );
	mMayaCam.mouseDown( event.getPos() );
}

void PointOnSphereApp::mouseDrag( MouseEvent event )
{
	// use the maya camera helper to control our camera
	mMayaCam.mouseDrag( event.getPos(), event.isLeftDown(), event.isMiddleDown(), event.isRightDown() );
	mCamera = mMayaCam.getCamera();
}

CINDER_APP_NATIVE( PointOnSphereApp, RendererGl )