New map projections don’t make the Mercator wrong | Letter
Map showing Africa using the Mercator projection, left, and one from the Equal Earth campaign. Composite: equal-earth.com, Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenMap showing Africa using the Mercator projection, left, and one from the Equal Earth campaign. The international coordinate system (ie latitude-longitude, which is unchanged by this resolution) is based for arbitrary historical reasons on a meridian drawn through Greenwich.However, the “centre” of this coordinate system is not London but a point in the sea off west Africa.
- ▪Map showing Africa using the Mercator projection, left, and one from the Equal Earth campaign.
- ▪Composite: equal-earth.com, Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenMap showing Africa using the Mercator projection, left, and one from the Equal Earth campaign.
- ▪The international coordinate system (ie latitude-longitude, which is unchanged by this resolution) is based for arbitrary historical reasons on a meridian drawn through Greenwich.However, the “centre” of this coordinate system is not London
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| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/sep/25/new-map-projections-dont-make-the-mercator-wrong |
| Publication time | Fri, 25 Sep 2026 16:31:30 GMT |
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Map showing Africa using the Mercator projection, left, and one from the Equal Earth campaign. Composite: equal-earth.com, Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenMap showing Africa using the Mercator projection, left, and one from the Equal Earth campaign. Composite: equal-earth.com, Getty ImagesMapsLettersNew map projections don’t make the Mercator wrongThe transverse Mercator projection was created for European sailors – and it worked for their world, writes Paul HarwoodFri 25 Sep 2026 12.31 EDTLast modified on Fri 25 Sep 2026 12.32 EDTShareThe subject of projections is incredibly complicated and you did a good job of navigating the discussion (‘A map is never neutral’: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western bias, 18 September).However, suggesting that transverse Mercator…
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