A trio of scientists have devised a new way to try to represent our spherical planet as a flat picture with a new class of projection that involves printing the map as a double-sided circle, Phys ...

According to the team's rating system, the top-rated flat map projection is the Winkel Tripel, a map that originated in 1921, when German cartographer Oswald Winkel proposed it, ...

A flat map with the Mercator projection. (Image credit: BardoczPeter via Getty Images) "Some projections distort more than others," Edney said. "Mercator's projection is the classic example.

Because the Earth is roughly spherical, every flat map distorts our planet one way or another. The most popular version is the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus ...

I have always loved geometrical things. As a kid I was fascinated by map projections. When I was 14, I made a painted globe of Mars based on a flat Mercator Mars map by the astronomer E. M. Antoniadi.

The map you are likely familiar with is one based on the Mercator projection, published by cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.It's a cylindrical map projection, in which you place the globe ...

If you can't see the maps, click here Greenland measures just 2,166,086 square kilometers (sq km), whereas Africa spans 30,043,862 sq km. However, flat maps depict a different story.

The problem is creating flat maps to depict a round planet – something's got to give. In the case of the most common map projections used today, what gives is the size of places near the poles.

The problem is creating flat maps to depict a round planet – something's got to give. In the case of the most common map projections used today, what gives is the size of places near the poles.

The pancake map also has smaller distance errors than any other 2D flat map. For instance, its configuration means distances can't be more or less than 22.2% of what they are in reality, Gott said.