Mercator's Map

The Mercator map, created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, is a projection that distorts the Earth's surface to represent lines of constant compass heading as straight lines. It allows sailors to navigate easily by following straight routes, but it significantly enlarges areas near the poles compared to their true size, making regions like Greenland and Antarctica appear much larger than they are. This map is useful for navigation but less accurate for representing the true size and shape of landmasses, especially near the poles.