#Tag · bonfire.cafe

Yet another reason to tut at the Mercator map projection
https://brilliantmaps.com/mercator-vs-true-size/

World map using a Mercator projection, but with the true relative sizes of countries overlaid in a darker shade. This illustrates how the standard Mercator projection distorts the size of landmasses, particularly those further from the equator, by showing the actual size differences. For example, Canada and Russia appear much smaller in their true relative size compared to their depiction in a standard Mercator projection.

Map Projections: Mercator Vs The True Size of Each Country

Map found via reddit, click for larger versionWhile it's well known that the mercator projection distorts the world, the maps here show very clearly by how

BobDevney

@BobDevney@wandering.shop replied · 2 weeks ago

@infobeautiful

Fascinating, thanks!

Here's obligatory link to great bit from TV's "The West Wing." Where cartographers compare Mercator versus Peters projections for stunned C.J. and Josh.

The head map guy is played with perfect drollery by the invaluable John Billingsley (Star Trek: Enterprise; The Man from Earth, etc.).

Cartographer: "Nothing's where you think it is."
C.J: "Where is it?"
Cartographer: "I'm glad you asked…"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Xyz9MgDWA

#Maps #TV #Imperialism #Cartography

paulyd II - the wrath of caro-kann liked this activity

Galaxy Map

@galaxy_map@mastodon.social · 2 weeks ago

I've put up one of the most ambitious (and lengthy) articles I've written on the Milky Way.

The timing works out well because this year is the 75th anniversary of the detection of the 21 cm line, one of the events that started the Golden Age of galactic cartography.

https://kevinjardine.dev/blog/post-16/

#astronomy #GaiaMission #cartography

The Phantom Arm

Can Gaia DR4 improve our maps of the inner galaxy?

Andrew Wooldridge 🎆 boosted

Miss Gayle

@MissGayle@urbanists.social · 2 weeks ago

Timeline cleanse - some interesting geology sciency stuff.

Link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/gravity-hole-indian-ocean

#Geology #Gravity #Science #Cartography

The Mystery of the World’s Largest and Deepest Gravity Hole
The sea level here is hundreds of feet lower than the rest of the ocean.
by Frank Jacobs, November 3, 2023

Did You Know?

In the 20th century, a Dutch scientist discovered a gravitational anomaly in the Indian Ocean. The earth’s pull was significantly lower in this region of over a million square miles. More recent researchers believe that they’ve figured out the explanation.

The world's largest gravity hole...The piece of sunken ocean is the size of India. ESA/HPF/DLR

The gravity hole in the Indian Ocean is significantly deeper and bigger than any other gravitational anomaly. ESA – GOCE High Level Processing Facility — The Mystery of the World’s Largest and Deepest Gravity Hole The sea level here is hundreds of feet lower than the rest of the ocean. by Frank Jacobs, November 3, 2023 Did You Know? In the 20th century, a Dutch scientist discovered a gravitational anomaly in the Indian Ocean. The earth’s pull was significantly lower in this region of over a million square miles. More recent researchers believe that they’ve figured out the explanation. The world's largest gravity hole...The piece of sunken ocean is the size of India. ESA/HPF/DLR The gravity hole in the Indian Ocean is significantly deeper and bigger than any other gravitational anomaly. ESA – GOCE High Level Processing Facility

Miss Gayle

@MissGayle@urbanists.social · 2 weeks ago

Timeline cleanse - some interesting geology sciency stuff.

Link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/gravity-hole-indian-ocean

#Geology #Gravity #Science #Cartography

Chip Butty boosted

z3z

@z3z@mastodon.scot · 2 weeks ago

Scotland's National Library is having a free map festival next month, if you're interested in #cartography and anywhere near Edinburgh on 6th Feb.

#maps #scotland

https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/map-festival/

National Library of Scotland

Map festival | National Library of Scotland

Ever wondered what secrets lie in a map? Join us for the Map Festival, a day dedicated to all things cartographic in Edinburgh.

Galaxy Map

@galaxy_map@mastodon.social · 2 weeks ago

I've put up one of the most ambitious (and lengthy) articles I've written on the Milky Way.

The timing works out well because this year is the 75th anniversary of the detection of the 21 cm line, one of the events that started the Golden Age of galactic cartography.

https://kevinjardine.dev/blog/post-16/

#astronomy #GaiaMission #cartography

The Phantom Arm

Can Gaia DR4 improve our maps of the inner galaxy?

z3z

@z3z@mastodon.scot · 2 weeks ago

Scotland's National Library is having a free map festival next month, if you're interested in #cartography and anywhere near Edinburgh on 6th Feb.

#maps #scotland

https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/map-festival/

National Library of Scotland

Map festival | National Library of Scotland

Ever wondered what secrets lie in a map? Join us for the Map Festival, a day dedicated to all things cartographic in Edinburgh.

Joachim boosted

Claude Trudel

@cltr@jasette.facil.services · last month

Le plan de Paris et de ses faubourgs en 1732
Carte dressée par Nicolas de Fer, téléversée sur Gallica/BnF le 7 décembre 2025
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525271802/
Note : Place des conquêtes = Place Vendôme aujourd’hui
#BnF #Gallica #France #Paris #carte #map #cartographie #cartography

Jeremy ⁂ boosted

Tomo Bacinger

@tomo@hachyderm.io · last month

Romania

Made with #QGIS and #Blender

#Cartography #Maps #GisChat

Satellite map of România viewed from space. The country displays its distinctive shape, with the Carpathian Mountains forming a prominent arc across the center, appearing as dark-green, forested ridges. The mountain chain curves like a reversed 'C' or horseshoe, dividing România into three central regions. Inside this arc lies Transylvania, visible as a green elevated plateau. The southern region shows the Wallachian Plain in lighter browns and tans, indicating agricultural lands. The Danube River is visible along the southern border, and the Black Sea coastline appears on the east edge. The mountains show the highest elevations with some snow-capped peaks visible as white spots. The Danube Delta region appears as a distinctive green wetland area where the river meets the Black Sea.

STOP OCCUPATION 🍉 S. Costa boosted

Cartodataviz

@cartodata@mapstodon.space · last month

#map The oldest map ever drawn, dating back to 9,000 years and discovered in Jordan. The ‘Jibal al-Khashabiyeh engraved stone’ depicts a ‘desert kite’, a hunting device used in the Middle East during the Neolithic. The maps was drawn on a 92 kg limestone block nearly 80 cm high using a stone tool. The block was recovered in 2015, and the results of the analyses were published in 2023 in the journal PLOS ONE

Original article: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0277927

#cartography #geography

3 media

A photograph of the monolith engraved with the oldest map ever drawn. It’s a substantial rectangular pillar with a weathered, porous surface characteristic of limestone, and it's standing upright in an arid, desert landscape. A red and white metric scale ruler is positioned alongside for size reference.

A 3D model of the monolith engraved with the oldest map ever drawn. 4 four different columns represent different angles of the monolith. An interpretative sketch, mainly visible in the 2nd centre left column, has been drawn by researchers. It’s a complex geometric shape representing a ‘desert kite’, structured as a corridor (at the bottom of the monolith) leading up to a large enclosure that opens onto several pits (small round shapes in the drawing). The 3D model is represented in a stippled (dot-based) shading technique, emulating the rough texture of the stone in greyscale, while the interpretative sketch is highlighted with black outlines.

An aerial view of the desert kit represented in the monolith map. It shows a vast enclosure and, on the periphery, the small pits of the kite. The landscape is monochromatic, dominated by shades of light brown, tan, and beige, when the ground texture is rough and uneven, scattered with small rocks, gravel, and scrub. A graphical scale bar is visible in the bottom left corner, marking increments of 0, 50, and 100 meters.

Claude Trudel

@cltr@jasette.facil.services · last month

Cartodataviz

@cartodata@mapstodon.space · last month

Original article: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0277927

#cartography #geography

3 media

The Voyager's Workshop

@wfgWorkshop@mastodon.art · last month

Tabletop RPGs can make use of many maps, depicting dungeons, cities, regions or even entire worlds! I’m available for commissions all year round for your published projects or your gaming group’s needs.

#fantasymaps #ttrpg #cartography #artistforhire #handcrafted #fantasyart #noai

4 media

A custom map of a home brew fantasy world for a D&D group in Germany.

A custom regional map for an indie creator in the UK.

A fantasy city map of Washtown, the capital of the Kingdom of Murka, commissioned by Action Fiction for their upcoming 2nd edition of Monsters of Murka.

A black and white dungeon map for Cawood Publishing’s Ghosts of Wrath adventure module.

Tomo Bacinger

@tomo@hachyderm.io · last month

Romania

Made with #QGIS and #Blender

#Cartography #Maps #GisChat

Angela Antunovic and 1 other boosted

moongold

@moongold@mastodon.social · 2 months ago

For Decades, Cartographers Have Been Hiding Covert Illustrations Inside of Switzerland’s Official Maps.

https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/for-decades-cartographers-have-been-hiding-covert-illustrations-inside-of-switzerlands-official-maps/

"As Juerg Gilgen, a current cartographer at Swisstopo, told me “as a matter of fact, the proof-reader is also just a human being prone to failure. And cartographers are also just human beings trying to fool around.”"

Wonderful, wonderful stuff.

#MapMaking #maps #cartography #switzerland #Swisstopo #topography #hidden #illustration #eyeondesign

01
A marmot hiding in plain sight in the Swiss Alps. — 01 A marmot hiding in plain sight in the Swiss Alps.

Sander Meijer boosted

Federico Hernandez

@recollir@mountains.social · 2 months ago

For the Swiss #mountains and #cartography fans https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/for-decades-cartographers-have-been-hiding-covert-illustrations-inside-of-switzerlands-official-maps/

It also contains a link to this highlight from Swisstopo - a timeline displaying 175 years of the country’s cartographic history, advancing in increments of 5-10 years. Over the course of two minutes, Switzerland is drawn and redrawn with increasing precision. Fantastic.

https://map.geo.admin.ch/#/map?lang=en&center=2660000.59,1189999.84&z=1&topic=swisstopo&layers=ch.swisstopo.zeitreihen@year=1871&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo.pixelkarte-farbe&catalogNodes=swisstopo&timeSlider=1871