The Mercator projection, a cylindrical map introduced by Geradus Mercator in 1569, distorts the true size of countries on maps, ... An even more extreme example would be Antarctica.

Because the Earth is roughly spherical, every flat map distorts our planet one way or another. The most popular version is the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus ...

Like symphonies, map projections are named after their makers. Gerardus Mercator was an engraver and globe-maker in 1500s Flanders. Until he came along, most cartographers were using Ptolemy’s ...

Colton's 1852 map of the world uses the Mercator projection, cutting off the highly distorted poles. Printed for J & H Miller, Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Wikimedia Commons ...

Mercator Projection Map . ... And Antarctica looks like the biggest continent by far, filling up the bottom of the map, although it really ranks fifth. Why do we put up with that?

OUR map of the world hasn’t changed much in centuries. It seems to be set in stone. The thing is, it’s not accurate. When this world map was charted in the 1600s according to the Mercator’s ...

The current standard for world maps, the Mercator projection, was developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The map became the official standard because it is great for nautical ...

Antarctica; Antarctica is a special case. The continent contains no countries, instead it is governed under a 1959 agreement called the Antarctic Treaty, ... Mercator map projection.

So, Antarctica, Greenland and Russia, look far larger in the ... that other projections that fix this problem likely “look odd and convoluted,” to people who grew up looking at Mercator maps.