# Are these maps of Africa optical illusions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879 "2012-07-30T18:52:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/81 "2012-08-01T12:59:05Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > “War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.” ~ Ambrose Bierce I first learned basic world geography playing [Risk!](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e7v9zosoogI/ThZxM1oB49I/AAAAAAAAFe8/Z7j-oegEhlQ/s1600/risk_game_board.jpg) On that game board, Greenland is huge. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/82 "2012-08-01T12:59:06Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > What about 1:1 scale? Even on 1:1 scale, with the proviso that the globe is still perfectly spherical, and the triangles are non-zero size, and “embedded” in the sphere, and by “equilateral” we mean that the sides are segments of geodesics of the sphere, and are equal in length as measured along the sphere, not in the space it’s embedded in. Granted, for human-sized triangles on an earth-sized sphere, the difference would be too slight to notice by a long shot. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/83 "2012-08-01T14:26:26Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > I first learned basic world geography playing [Risk!](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e7v9zosoogI/ThZxM1oB49I/AAAAAAAAFe8/Z7j-oegEhlQ/s1600/risk_game_board.jpg) On that game board, Greenland is huge. That’s why I’ve never trusted the Australians. They’re just waiting down there, biding their time, mark my words. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/84 "2012-08-01T16:28:10Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > I first learned basic world geography playing [Risk!](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e7v9zosoogI/ThZxM1oB49I/AAAAAAAAFe8/Z7j-oegEhlQ/s1600/risk_game_board.jpg) On that game board, Greenland is huge. You not say Ukraine weak! ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/85 "2012-08-01T18:02:04Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > They screwed up, though, in putting Africa in the center. Morons. That was a concession to the Atlantic ocean lobby, who wanted to split up the Pacific and downplay it’s size. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/86 "2012-08-01T18:06:39Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > This website has the third picture in your search (as of Mon 30.JUL.2012 2329 GMT). > [https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/preview\_lesson\_nostds.php?&passid=92](https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/preview_lesson_nostds.php?&passid=92) > > Africa looks large in this picture. > Because it is large. > It is a continent, after all. That photo is actually a wide angle distortion. I’d guess that it shows a view from three or four thousand miles up. (About half Earth’s diameter.) The photo doesn’t come close to showing an entire hemisphere. It’s like taking a picture of someone’s head from from 6 inches away – the closest features will be exaggerated. > [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Here is the only really accurate view of Africa: > > [http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/TV2004/Earth-Egress1a.JPG](http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/TV2004/Earth-Egress1a.JPG) That’s more like it. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/87 "2012-08-01T19:32:58Z")
I posted a comment on the blog and she deleted it almost immediately. I hope this person isn’t really a college professor, although unfortunately I can’t say I’d be shocked if she was. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/88 "2012-08-01T21:17:40Z")
I’m still wondering why the OP is “outraged”. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/89 "2012-08-03T07:23:24Z")
**AWB** , I’m reminded of Bill Clinton’s musings on “what the meaning of ‘is’ is”. What gives you the idea that I \*am \*outraged, present tense? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/90 "2012-08-03T18:32:58Z")
I find it odd that the Mercator projection, no matter how common, is assumed to be accurate. You’ll see various maps throughout your schooling, and, if you have a good school, even have a whole class about projections. But, even if you don’t, why in the world would teachers teach about the Earth using the Mercator projection? Even splitting the Earth into two circles is more accurate (which, BTW, is the map I was taught on–ALONG WITH A GLOBE.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/91 "2012-08-04T01:48:56Z")
That depends on what you mean by “accurate”. It’s about as accurate as it’s possible for a flat map to be, when it comes to the shapes of continents. And it’s perfectly accurate when it comes to showing paths of constant compass bearing, something that even a globe can’t compete with. It’s terrible for showing relative areas of different landmasses, but you can’t have everything. And by comparison, a Peters projection, say, which keeps the areas true, is absolutely terrible about distorting shapes. Incidentally, Greenland isn’t even the best example for showing the bias of the Mercator projection: Antarctica is. The Mercator projection shows Greenland as being about the same size as Africa, an error of over an order of magnitude. But it also shows Antarctica as being _infinitely_ larger than Africa, an error of an infinite number of orders of magnitude. We just don’t notice this because all Mercator maps are cropped somewhere to the north and south-- If they weren’t, they’d be infinitely tall and still never reach the poles. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/92 "2012-08-04T02:44:36Z")
Is there any digitized Mercator that automatically morphs the map as you move the center point? That would be a great tool ti demonstrate projection. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/93 "2012-08-04T03:41:06Z")
Mostly that already linked to in my post#28. [Here it is again.](http://www.btinternet.com/~se16/js/mapproj.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/94 "2012-08-04T05:07:42Z")
The problems with Mercator projectors for general world maps is something that has been recognized for many decades, and Mercator schoolroom maps are actually pretty rare. That’s why cartographers were so—ahem—Galled when Peters raised such a stink in the 1980s and why it seems odd to see this straw man trotted out so often. The projection Peters claimed to have invented to solve all the world’s problems was one that had been developed by a Scot named Gall a century earlier. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/95 "2012-08-07T23:33:20Z")
This [image](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/08/07/stunning-portrait-of-earth-from-a-new-european-weather-sat/) from space gives a pretty spectacular representation of the actual size of Africa… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/96 "2012-08-08T00:05:19Z")
That image has already been posted, and it, too, is misleading, since it’s taken from a relatively low orbit. Africa looks much bigger in that picture than it should, because the camera is really close to Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/97 "2012-08-08T00:41:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That image has already been posted, and it, too, is misleading, since it’s taken from a **relatively low orbit**. Africa looks much bigger in that picture than it should, because the camera is really close to Africa. Is 22,000 miles considered to be close, since that was taken from a [geostationary satellite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit)? If so, how far do you have to be before viewing angle effects become insignificant (e.g. Moon)? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/98 "2012-08-08T00:52:12Z")
Goode Homolosine for the win > **[Goode homolosine projection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goode_homolosine_projection)** > > The Goode homolosine projection (or interrupted Goode homolosine projection) is a pseudocylindrical, equal-area, composite map projection used for world maps. Normally it is presented with multiple interruptions. Its equal-area property makes it useful for presenting spatial distribution of phenomena. > The projection was developed in 1923 by John Paul Goode to provide an alternative to the Mercator projection for portraying global areal relationships. Goode offered variations of the interruption ... ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/99 "2012-08-08T00:55:11Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Is 22,000 miles considered to be close, since that was taken from a [geostationary satellite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostationary_orbit)? If so, how far do you have to be before viewing angle effects become insignificant (e.g. Moon)? 10 to 20 times the diameter of the earth. The diameter of the earth is about 7900 miles. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879/100 "2012-08-08T01:15:11Z")
Is it possible to peel an orange (apple, whatever) in such a way that what you have ends up completely flat? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-maps-of-africa-optical-illusions/629879.md?page=6)