How is Mercator projection done?

How is Mercator projection done?

Mercator found that to keep the rhumb lines straight he had to make lines of latitude move away from each other as they moved north and south of the equator. In order to do this, he created a projection that preserved the 90° angles between the latitude and longitude lines. Mercator’s map of the world, 1569.

What do Mercator projections show accurately?

Mercator projection, type of map projection introduced in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator. 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 is a Mercator projection made?

In 1569, Mercator developed a better, more accurate projection. Although the execution was difficult, the basic idea was simple: Imagine a globe with a paper cylinder wrapped around it — Mercator projected that globe onto the paper and then unwrapped it.

What is the advantage of the Mercator projection for Web Maps?

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.

Why does Google Maps still use Mercator projection?

Google Maps mainly uses the Mercator projection because it allows to preserve the angles. That’s why they decided to go to Mercator, because although zooming in on a continental scale introduces distortion, at the level of city maps is much more appropriate.

What are the pros of the Mercator projection?

List of the Pros of Mercator Projection 1. It is easier to plot courses on a Mercator projection.. The Mercator projection makes it easier to navigate over long… 2. This method ensures that angles and shapes stay true.. Because the Mercator projection is a conformal one, the shapes… 3.

Why was Mercator projection important to plate tectonics?

Mercator projections were vital for the mathematical development of plate tectonics during the 1960s. Owing to its expansive land distortions, many consider Mercator projection unsuitable for use in world maps.

When to use the Universal Transverse Mercator projection?

The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, developed by the U.S. Army, is widely used in topographic maps. This projection is recommended for areas lying between 84°N to 80°S.

Is the Mercator projection useless at the north and South Poles?

The Mercator projection becomes undefined at the north and south poles. 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.