What does a Mercator map accurately show?
Moreover, what does the Mercator map projection show accurately? As on all map projections, shapes or sizes are distortions of the true layout of the Earth's surface. The Mercator projection exaggerates areas far from the equator. Examples: Greenland appears the same size as Africa, when in reality Africa's area is 14 times greater.
What is one problem with a Mercator map?
One problem is the variation of scale with latitude, and another is that straight lines on the map (rhumb lines), other than the meridians or the equator, do not correspond to great circles. The distinction between rhumb (sailing) distance and great circle (true) distance was clearly understood by Mercator.
What is a Mercator map projection used for?
What is the Mercator projection used for? This projection is widely used for navigation charts, because any straight line on a Mercator projection map is a line of constant true bearing that enables a navigator to plot a straight-line course.
How does a Mercator map misrepresent the world?
“A map that is good at one thing may not be good at depicting other things.” The Mercator projection, popular on classroom walls and used as the basis for Google maps, is excellent at depicting local shapes, but it distorts surface areas so badly near the North and South Poles that polar regions are usually simply chopped off.
Why is the Mercator projection used in navigation?
It became the standard map projection for navigation because it is unique in representing north as up and south as down everywhere while preserving local directions and shapes. The map is thereby conformal. As a side effect, the Mercator projection inflates the size of objects away from the equator.
When did Mercator start dominating maps?
However, it did not begin to dominate world maps until the 19th century, when the problem of position determination had been largely solved.
How is the Mercator projection determined?
The Mercator projection is determined by the requirement that the projection be conformal. One implication of this is the "isotropy of scale factors", which means that the point scale factor is independent of direction, so that small shapes are preserved by the projection. This implies that the vertical scale factor, h, equals the horizontal scale factor, k. Since k = sec φ, so must h .
What is a mercator projection?
The Mercator projection maps all lines with constant bearing ( rhumbs (mathematically known as loxodromes—those making constant angles with the meridians) to straight lines. The two properties, conformality and straight rhumb lines, make this projection uniquely suited to marine navigation: courses and bearings are measured using wind roses or protractors, and the corresponding directions are easily transferred from point to point, on the map, with the help of a parallel ruler (for example).
Why did Mercator use sinusoidal projection?
Because of great land area distortions, some consider the projection unsuitable for general world maps. Therefore, Mercator himself used the equal-area sinusoidal projection to show relative areas. However, despite such distortions, the Mercator projection was, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, perhaps the most common projection used in world maps, despite being much criticized for this use.
Which projection exaggerates areas far from the equator?
The Mercator projection exaggerates areas far from the equator .
Why is a marine chart based on a mercator?
Practically every marine chart in print is based on the Mercator projection due to its uniquely favorable properties for navigation . It is also commonly used by street map services hosted on the Internet, due to its uniquely favorable properties for local-area maps computed on demand. Mercator projections were also important in the mathematical development of plate tectonics in the 1960s.
What did Mercator do?
These included an early version of his world map, which showed the globe as a heart-shaped projection. He continued studying the sciences and making maps and instruments for wealthy, and sometimes high-profile, clients.
What was the purpose of the Mercator projection?
In 1569, Mercator published his epic world map. This map, with its Mercator projection, was designed to help sailors navigate around the globe. They could use latitude and longitude lines to plot a straight route. Mercator’s projection laid out the globe as a flattened version of a cylinder.
Why is Mercator's projection still used today?
Because the projection was intended to be a reference for navigation and not land geography, the landmasses on the map are not necessarily proportional to their actual size; at higher latitudes, landmasses appear larger than their actual size. Despite these distortions, Mercator’s projection is still heavily used today.
Why was Mercator arrested?
But in 1544, Mercator was arrested under suspicion of heresy; the traveling he did for research had made church officials wary. After spending a few months in prison, he was released and continued his studies. In 1569, Mercator published his epic world map.
Who created the map of the world?
If you have ever seen a map of the world in a classroom or in an atlas, chances are you have seen the work of Gerardus Mercator, a 16 th -century Flemish cartographer (mapmaker). His most famous work, the Mercator projection, is a geographical chart where the spherical globe is flattened into a two-dimensional map, with latitude and longitude lines drawn in a straight grid. Mercator’s view of the world is one that has endured through the centuries and still helps navigators today.
Where was Mercator born?
Mercator’s view of the world is one that has endured through the centuries and still helps navigators today. Mercator was born in Flanders (located in modern-day Belgium) in 1512. The son of a cobbler, Mercator grew up in a poor family.
Is Mercator's map proportional to the size of the landmass?
Displays of the landmasses are not necessarily proportional to their actual size, especially toward the poles. Despite these distortions, his maps are still in heavy use. Though Mercator is best known for his cylindrical maps, he created various map types, like this spherical map. a collection of maps.
Which continent appears as a massive icy landmass in Mercator projection?
Greenland, which appears as a massive icy landmass in Mercator projection, shrinks way down. The continent of Africa takes a much more prominent position in this new, correctly-scaled map.
Why are maps important?
Maps are hugely important tools in our everyday life, whether it’s guiding our journeys from point A to B, or shaping our big picture perceptions about geopolitics and the environment. For many people, the Earth as they know it is heavily informed by the Mercator projection – a tool used for nautical navigation that eventually became ...
Why is geographic literacy important?
In a more globally connected world, geographic literacy is more important than ever. As people become more accustomed to equal area maps and seeing the Earth in its spherical form, misconceptions about the size of continents may become a thing of the past.
Who created the map of the sphere?
In 1569, the great cartographer, Gerardus Mercator, created a revolutionary new map based on a cylindrical projection. The new map was well-suited to nautical navigation since every line on the sphere is a constant course, or loxodrome.
Is Western imperialism downgraded by mercator?
Unluckily, neither the Nations that most were/are part of the "Western Imperialism" are not improved by Mercator projection, or the Nations affected by Imperialism are downgraded by Mercator projection (as you can see in the article).
Why is the Mercator projection useless?
Since you can navigate around the top of the arctic circle, the map becomes useless because you would need to go off the map to come back onto it. That makes its useless when you must navigate through those two regions of the planet.
Why is it easier to plot courses on a mercator projection?
It is easier to plot courses on a Mercator projection.#N#The Mercator projection makes it easier to navigate over long distances on our planet because of two properties: straight rhumb lines and conformality. That means the courses and bearings that must be set are measured using protractors or wind roses, making it much easier to transfer directions from point-to-point on the map. All you need is a pair of navigational protractor triangles and a parallel ruler to determine where you need to be going.
How accurate is a mercator projection?
Although the scale approaches infinity when approaching the poles, the pros and cons of a Mercator projection show that it is one of the most accurate methods of staying true to navigational needs in the world today. That’s why this option will soon be celebrating its 500th anniversary of use.
What is the criticism of the Mercator projection?
There are some rightful criticisms of the Mercator projection in that it distorts some of the areas of the planet to make them seem more important than others to the casual observer. It is also the only map that provides an almost unerring certainty in navigational needs.
Which projection ensures that all lines on the map are straight and perpendicular to one another?
4. All cylindrical projections, meridians, and parallels are straight and perpendicular to one another. The Mercator projection ensures that all of the lines on the map are straight and perpendicular to one another, making it the only one where each primary direction remains true even though our planet isn’t flat.
Why is the climatological map method useful?
This method is useful for specific climatological maps and marine charts because it creates a display that offers features that are easier to read for the average person. This map option is named after the Flemish cartographer and geographer who invented it in 1569.
Can a mercator be used as a map?
If you have a Mercator projection to use as a map, then the information it provides you is not useful for the comparison of the area of the continents. This disadvantage can apply to the oceans as well since the waters near the poles encounter the same distortion that the landmasses experience.
