![]() A compass course can be plotted at the same angle on any part of Mercator's map. ![]() The distortion of Mercator's projection is a benefit to navigators since Mercator achieves a matching scale for longitude and latitude in every section of the map. Mercator's projection greatly enlarged territories as they recede from the equator. It used a projection now known by Mercator's name, though it has been used by few others before him, based on a system of latitude and longitude that dated back to Hipparchus. In 1569, Mercator published a map of the world specifically intended as an aid to navigation. Since a globe remains the only accurate way of representing the spherical earth, and any flat representation resulted in distorted projection. The geography discoveries and the new printing techniques resulted in maps that can be cheaply produced.
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