Launched nearly fifteen years ago, Google Maps’ online mapping service is getting a major update by finally ditching the Mercator projection, which did not accurately ...

Maps distort reality because the Earth is a three-dimensional sphere, and any attempt to represent it on a flat surface requires compromise.It's like trying to make a rectangle out of an orange peel.

For centuries, the Mercator projection has been one of the most recognizable representations of the world. Developed in 1569 during the height of maritime exploration, it was engineered with a ...

CNN Election History presents historical election results on maps that represent the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, and Hawaii. CNN uses a Web Mercator map projection in the Election History ...

DAKAR, Senegal — On the Mercator projection, one of the world’s most popular maps, Greenland and Africa appear to be about the same size. But on the Equal Earth projection showing continents in their ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...

Maps sit quietly in classrooms, on news websites and inside phone screens. They look settled and precise, but the world they show is always slightly bent out of shape. Because the Earth is round, any ...

One of the best known and commonly used world maps, the Mercator Projection, depicts Greenland and Africa as being roughly the same size. In reality, Africa is 14 times larger. This clever animation ...

The African Union endorsed a map that reflects the truer relative size of the continent. (map public domain via Equal Earth) The African Union, an intergovernmental organization of 55 African ...