Mercator Projection

Haritaların Özellikleri

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Conformal

A conformal map projection preserves angles, in which any angle on a conformal map is true to their corresponding equivalent on Earth. If city A, city B and city C create a 60° angle at city B on a globe, this will be shown as such on a conformal projection. When we look for directions, we would want the 90° angle between road X and road Y in real life to also be portrayed as 90° on our map for easier navigation. This is not possible on a non-conformal map.

Equal area

As hinted by its name, an equal area projection preserves the sizes of areas as how they exist on the globe. It is therefore more reasonable to compare sizes of regions with an equal area map rather than with any other projection type, as it preserves landmass size most accurately. Shapes, however, will still be distorted.

Equidistant 

An equidistant map preserves distance, but only within a specific parameter. Some equidistant projections allow accurate distance measurement between two points on a meridian, which is the vertical line on our maps also known as a longitude (the equivalent of latitude, on the other hand, is called a parallel). Others require a central point, from which the distance is correctly measured. An equidistant map with London as its center, for example, accurately presents distances between London and any other point on the map, but not between Paris and Lisbon.

Compromise

Compromise map projections do not preserve any property and are therefore not appropriate for any calculation. However, they are the most suitable for general reference purposes compared to any of the previous types. A compromise map does not need to strictly maintain its accuracy, and as such, its priority is on reducing visual distortions to achieve landmass shapes as similar as possible as these on the globe.

Mercator Conformal Bir Harita

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Prior to Mercator’s chart, there was a strong chance of being lost during long distance sailings, especially across the ocean. Early sailing maps only displayed approximate sailing directions and rough distance measurements. These were not accurate, but often they covered small areas only, and thus their mistakes were rather inconsequential. This was extensively improved by Mercator. With his projection, seafarers would first mark their start and end point, and then connect these with a straight line. They would measure the angle between said line and any of the meridians it cuts through. Finally, upon sailing, they would only need to maintain this angle from their starting point until they arrived at their destination — all within the level of accuracy that was unheard of before. Needless to say, the Mercator projection revolutionized navigation.

Eleştiri

Mercator Avrupa'yı olduğundan büyük gösterir. Açıklaması şöyle

The immense distortion of the size of Europe and North America, leaving the rest of the world (often represented by Africa) seemingly small and powerless. 

Eğer ölçüleri tam görmek istiyorsak Gall-Peters Projection kullanılabilir.