
The Mercator projection enforces parallel lines of latitude and longitude. However, there are problems with the Mercator projection. They are also very useful for mapping applications because the math works out nicely. You can therefore track your course with a ruler, watch and compass (assuming you correct for magnetic declination of course).īecause of these two features, Mercator projection maps are immensely valuable to sailors. The nice feature of Mercator maps is that rhumb lines are straight lines.

If you point your ship on a compass heading and go forward, you are traveling a rhumb line. Rhumb lines are straight segments - The easiest way to understand a rhumb line is to imagine you are sailing a ship. In other words, once we have our "x" scale, we also know our "y" scale for a map segment. In other words, that means that the scale is constant around any position. The Mercator projection is one of the traditional map projections and offers some very compelling advantages: Any flat representation of the planet is therefore a compromise between accuracy and convenience. The first problem with both scale and resolution is that the world is neither flat, nor spherical. In this article we will look at the factors that affect scale and resolution and provide you with formulas you can use to calculate approximate values. Scale is further dependent on screen resolution. The answer is complicated as resolution depends on several factors including the current latitude and longitude.

One of the more difficult questions to answer about a Bing map involves determining the exact scale or resolution of a particular image.
