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The Mercator projection (/ m ər ˈ k eɪ t ər /) is a conformal cylindrical map projection first presented by Flemish geographer and mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569. In the 18th century, it became the standard map projection for navigation due to its property of representing rhumb lines as straight lines.
In normal aspect, pseudoconical projections represent the central meridian as a straight line, other meridians as complex curves, and parallels as circular arcs. Azimuthal In standard presentation, azimuthal projections map meridians as straight lines and parallels as complete, concentric circles. They are radially symmetrical.
Mercator's 1569 map was a large planisphere, [3] i.e. a projection of the spherical Earth onto the plane. It was printed in eighteen separate sheets from copper plates engraved by Mercator himself. [4]
The projection is known by several names: the (ellipsoidal) transverse Mercator in the US; Gauss conformal or Gauss–Krüger in Europe; or Gauss–Krüger transverse Mercator more generally. Other than just a synonym for the ellipsoidal transverse Mercator map projection, the term Gauss–Krüger may be used in other slightly different ways:
The projection from spheroid to a UTM zone is some parameterization of the transverse Mercator projection. The parameters vary by nation or region or mapping system. Most zones in UTM span 6 degrees of longitude, and each has a designated central meridian. The scale factor at the central meridian is specified to be 0.9996 of true scale for most ...
The most well-known map projection is the Mercator projection. [7]: 45 This map projection has the property of being conformal. However, it has been criticized throughout the 20th century for enlarging regions further from the equator.
Gerardus Mercator (/ dʒ ɪ ˈ r ɑːr d ə s m ɜːr ˈ k eɪ t ər /; [a] [b] [c] 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) [d] was a Flemish geographer, cosmographer and cartographer.He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing (rhumb lines) as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts.
oblique Mercator projection. The oblique Mercator map projection is an adaptation of the standard Mercator projection. The oblique version is sometimes used in national mapping systems. When paired with a suitable geodetic datum, the oblique Mercator delivers high accuracy in zones less than a few degrees in arbitrary directional extent.