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The Mercator projection was not so much a 'lie' but an essential aid to navigation because a straight line on the map projected on to a geodesic, or the equival
by Zuider 6y ago
The Mercator projection was not so much a 'lie' but an essential aid to navigation because a straight line on the map projected on to a geodesic, or the equivalent of a straight line, on the actual globe.
- mcswell 6y agoNo, a straight line on the Mercator projection does not in general correspond to a geodesic on a sphere. In particular, the only straight lines on Mercator maps that correspond to geodesics are the lines of longitude, and the equator. The lines of latitude (exclusive of the equator), which look like straight lines on a Mercator map of the Earth, are not great circles, and therefore segments of them are not geodesics.