Mercator projection
Noun: A specific method of representing the Earth's spherical surface on a flat map. It is a cylindrical map projection where the globe is projected onto a cylinder that is tangent at the equator. This projection preserves angles and shapes (it is conformal), making it extremely useful for navigation. However, it distorts the size of landmasses, with areas appearing increasingly larger the farther they are from the equator.
The Mercator projection is used primarily for navigational charts and world maps where preserving direction (rhumb lines) is critical. - For plotting a constant compass bearing across an ocean, sailors traditionally relied on the Mercator projection. - Many online mapping services use a variant of the Mercator projection for their base maps.
- Web Mercator: A specific adaptation of the Mercator projection used by virtually all major online map providers (e.g., Google Maps, Bing Maps). It is a spherical model, rather than an ellipsoidal one, optimized for digital tiling.
- The Web Mercator projection allows map tiles to be efficiently rendered and stitched together at different zoom levels.
- Cylindrical projection: The broader family of map projections to which the Mercator belongs.
- Conformal projection: A type of projection that preserves local angles and shapes; the Mercator projection is a conformal projection.
- Gall-Peters projection: An equal-area cylindrical projection often contrasted with the Mercator due to its attempt to show land area accurately, though it distorts shapes.
- Mercator chart
- Mercator's projection
- Map distortion: The inevitable alteration of area, shape, distance, or direction when representing a 3D surface in 2D.
- The primary criticism of the Mercator projection is its severe distortion of area near the poles.
- Rhumb line (loxodrome): A line of constant compass bearing, which appears as a straight line on a Mercator projection map.
-
a map projection of the earth onto a cylinder; areas appear greater the farther they are from the equator
Khám phá thêm
Các từ liên quan
Từ đồng nghĩa