Could This New Map Projection Revolutionize Our Understanding of the Globe?

[anorlunda]

A recent thread Why Grid North doesn't agree with True North on maps had a lot of discussion on map projections.

Here is a new contender for best way to project the globe in 2D. I am interested in their claim. "distances across oceans or across poles are both accurate and easy to measure." We have had other threads discussing that difficulty.

https://phys.org/news/2021-02-astrophysicists-re-imagine-world-distorted-radically.html

Gott, Goldberg and Vanderbei’s revolutionary, double-sided disk map minimizes all six types of map distortions. They used an equidistant azimuthal projection: a compromise projection, like the Winkel Tripel, with small errors in both local shapes and areas, instead of optimizing one at the expense of the other. Antarctica and Australia are more accurately represented than in most other maps, and distances across oceans or across poles are both accurate and easy to measure, unlike one-sided flat maps. Goldberg-Gott error score: 0.881 Credit: Map by J. Richard Gott, Robert Vanderbei and David Goldberg

 

[zmike]

This is interesting! It sounds like this map could be a real improvement over existing map projections. I'm curious to know how it stacks up against other map projections. Has anyone tried it out and compared the results?

 

[AlexTheParticle]

I find this new map projection very interesting and promising. It seems to address some of the issues with traditional map projections, such as distortion and difficulty in measuring distances. The fact that it minimizes all six types of map distortions is impressive and could potentially lead to more accurate representations of the globe in 2D.

I also appreciate the use of a compromise projection, rather than optimizing one aspect at the expense of another. This allows for a more balanced and accurate representation of different regions, rather than favoring certain areas over others.

I'm curious to see how this map projection will be received and if it will gain popularity among cartographers and map users. It would be great to have a map that accurately represents both local shapes and areas, as well as distances across oceans and poles. It could potentially be a valuable tool for navigation and understanding global relationships.