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Ask HN: Why does Google Maps still use mercator projection?

hbarka Thursday, January 22, 2026

Mercator projection exaggerates land size near the poles. Example: Greenland. I understand why this was necessary for flat paper maps and paper navigation but on the internet, web maps should be able to dynamically adjust based on viewing tangent. The true relative size would be as if you’re looking at a globe map and your sightline is tangent to the curve of the globe.

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