Information Is BeautifulJan 10
Yet another reason to tut at the Mercator map projection
https://brilliantmaps.com/mercator-vs-true-size/
Show threadLokjo - a European online mapJan 10

@infobeautiful

Can we see a map where it's flipped? I mean where the south is made bigger just as now the north is. Just to have a comparison of what we have been looking at all the time.

Show threadX-tof
@lokjo @infobeautiful it's not an issue about north vs south.
The difference in size comes from the distance to the equator.
Jan 10 at 4:08pmWeb
Show threadLokjo - a European online mapJan 10

@x_tof @infobeautiful

Ah yes, I thought the equator was the height of northern africa but it's in middle africa.

Show threadstevefaeembraJan 10
@lokjo @x_tof @infobeautiful also, the southern hemisphere looks a lot more impressive in Mercator if you don't hide the Antarctic!
Show threadAmbientDreadJan 10

@lokjo @x_tof @infobeautiful

No wonder human perception is so flawed with such input. I too had a misconception of where the equator fell on Africa. I'm glad the link does put Antarctica in perspective on a subsequent map. GIGO

Show threadplague roundJan 10

you could use an oblique Mercator projection, but that only makes one side of the northern hemisphere larger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mercator_Polar_Transverse.gif
#mapprojection #geodesy

@x_tof @lokjo

File:Mercator Polar Transverse.gif - Wikipedia

Show threadRobinJan 10
@x_tof
I've seen European maps that have the equator two thirds of the way down, I'm not sure if they're rescaling the southern hemisphere or just cutting off Antarctica, but either way it causes some bias.
@lokjo @infobeautiful
Show threadHenrik PauliJan 11
@eythian @x_tof There are conical projections which are great for focusing on a particular rectangle, uh, trapezoid with curved top and bottom sides. They're not meant for including the entire surface of the Earth, and just as they exclude latitudes outside a certain limit (say, the cone is touching at 50° lat and the projection shows ±20°), they also exclude longitudes outside of interest. It is not a matter of bias in the sense of making oneself bigger, rather what's regionally relevant.
Show threadHenrik PauliJan 11
@eythian @x_tof Whole-world map projections use symmetrical ones (like Mercator, or a handful of others with other fun properties instead of angle-retaining), in Europe just as much as in the rest of the world.