# Robinson projection

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The Robinson projection is a map projection of a world map which shows the entire world at once. It was specifically created in an attempt to find a good compromise to the problem of readily showing the whole globe as a flat image. [1]

## Contents

The Robinson projection was devised by Arthur H. Robinson in 1963 in response to an appeal from the Rand McNally company, which has used the projection in general-purpose world maps since that time. Robinson published details of the projection's construction in 1974. The National Geographic Society (NGS) began using the Robinson projection for general-purpose world maps in 1988, replacing the Van der Grinten projection. [2] In 1998 NGS abandoned the Robinson projection for that use in favor of the Winkel tripel projection, as the latter "reduces the distortion of land masses as they near the poles". [3] [4]

## Strengths and weaknesses

The Robinson projection is neither equal-area nor conformal, abandoning both for a compromise. The creator felt that this produced a better overall view than could be achieved by adhering to either. The meridians curve gently, avoiding extremes, but thereby stretch the poles into long lines instead of leaving them as points. [1]

Hence, distortion close to the poles is severe but quickly declines to moderate levels moving away from them. The straight parallels imply severe angular distortion at the high latitudes toward the outer edges of the map – a fault inherent in any pseudocylindrical projection. However, at the time it was developed, the projection effectively met Rand McNally's goal to produce appealing depictions of the entire world. [5] [6]

I decided to go about it backward. … I started with a kind of artistic approach. I visualized the best-looking shapes and sizes. I worked with the variables until it got to the point where, if I changed one of them, it didn't get any better. Then I figured out the mathematical formula to produce that effect. Most mapmakers start with the mathematics.

1988 New York Times article [1]

## Formulation

The projection is defined by the table: [7] [8] [9]

LatitudeXY
1.00000.0000
0.99860.0620
10°0.99540.1240
15°0.99000.1860
20°0.98220.2480
25°0.97300.3100
30°0.96000.3720
35°0.94270.4340
40°0.92160.4958
45°0.89620.5571
50°0.86790.6176
55°0.83500.6769
60°0.79860.7346
65°0.75970.7903
70°0.71860.8435
75°0.67320.8936
80°0.62130.9394
85°0.57220.9761
90°0.53221.0000

The table is indexed by latitude at 5-degree intervals; intermediate values are calculated using interpolation. Robinson did not specify any particular interpolation method, but it is reported that he used Aitken interpolation himself. [10] The X column is the ratio of the length of the parallel to the length of the equator; the Y column can be multiplied by 0.2536 [11] to obtain the ratio of the distance of that parallel from the equator to the length of the equator. [7] [9]

Coordinates of points on a map are computed as follows: [7] [9]

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x&=0.8487\,RX(\lambda -\lambda _{0}),\\y&=1.3523\,RY,\end{aligned}}}

where R is the radius of the globe at the scale of the map, λ is the longitude of the point to plot, and λ0 is the central meridian chosen for the map (both λ and λ0 are expressed in radians).

Simple consequences of these formulas are:

• With x computed as constant multiplier to the meridian across the entire parallel, meridians of longitude are thus equally spaced along the parallel.
• With y having no dependency on longitude, parallels are straight horizontal lines.

## Related Research Articles

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In cartography, a map projection is a way to flatten a globe's surface into a plane in order to make a map. This requires a systematic transformation of the latitudes and longitudes of locations from the surface of the globe into locations on a plane. All projections of a sphere on a plane necessarily distort the surface in some way and to some extent. Depending on the purpose of the map, some distortions are acceptable and others are not; therefore, different map projections exist in order to preserve some properties of the sphere-like body at the expense of other properties. Every distinct map projection distorts in a distinct way, by definition. The study of map projections is the characterization of these distortions. There is no limit to the number of possible map projections. Projections are a subject of several pure mathematical fields, including differential geometry, projective geometry, and manifolds. However, "map projection" refers specifically to a cartographic projection.

The transverse Mercator map projection is an adaptation of the standard Mercator projection. The transverse version is widely used in national and international mapping systems around the world, including the UTM. When paired with a suitable geodetic datum, the transverse Mercator delivers high accuracy in zones less than a few degrees in east-west extent.

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In cartography, the Lambert cylindrical equal-area projection, or Lambert cylindrical projection, is a cylindrical equal-area projection. This projection is undistorted along the equator, which is its standard parallel, but distortion increases rapidly towards the poles. Like any cylindrical projection, it stretches parallels increasingly away from the equator. The poles accrue infinite distortion, becoming lines instead of points.

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The Hammer projection is an equal-area map projection described by Ernst Hammer in 1892. Using the same 2:1 elliptical outer shape as the Mollweide projection, Hammer intended to reduce distortion in the regions of the outer meridians, where it is extreme in the Mollweide.

The Kavrayskiy VII projection is a map projection invented by Soviet cartographer Vladimir V. Kavrayskiy in 1939 for use as a general-purpose pseudocylindrical projection. Like the Robinson projection, it is a compromise intended to produce good-quality maps with low distortion overall. It scores well in that respect compared to other popular projections, such as the Winkel tripel, despite straight, evenly spaced parallels and a simple formulation. Regardless, it has not been widely used outside the former Soviet Union.

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In cartography, the cylindrical equal-area projection is a family of cylindrical, equal-area map projections.

The Eckert IV projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical map projection. The length of the polar lines is half that of the equator, and lines of longitude are semiellipses, or portions of ellipses. It was first described by Max Eckert in 1906 as one of a series of three pairs of pseudocylindrical projections. Within each pair, meridians are the same whereas parallels differ. Odd-numbered projections have parallels spaced equally, whereas even-numbered projections have parallels spaced to preserve area. Eckert IV is paired with Eckert III.

The Eckert II projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical map projection. In the equatorial aspect the network of longitude and latitude lines consists solely of straight lines, and the outer boundary has the distinctive shape of an elongated hexagon. It was first described by Max Eckert in 1906 as one of a series of three pairs of pseudocylindrical projections. Within each pair, the meridians have the same shape, and the odd-numbered projection has equally spaced parallels, whereas the even-numbered projection has parallels spaced to preserve area. The pair to Eckert II is the Eckert I projection.

The central cylindrical projection is a perspective cylindrical map projection. It corresponds to projecting the Earth's surface onto a cylinder tangent to the equator as if from a light source at Earth's center. The cylinder is then cut along one of the projected meridians and unrolled into a flat map.

The natural Earth projection is a pseudocylindrical map projection designed by Tom Patterson and introduced in 2012. It is neither conformal nor equal-area.

## References

1. John Noble Wilford (October 25, 1988). "The Impossible Quest for the Perfect Map". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
2. Snyder, John P. (1993). Flattening the Earth: 2000 Years of Map Projections. University of Chicago Press. p. 214. ISBN   0226767469.
3. "National Geographic Maps – Wall Maps – World Classic (Enlarged)". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2019-02-17. This map features the Winkel Tripel projection to reduce distortion of land masses as they near the poles.
4. "Selecting a Map Projection". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
5. Myrna Oliver (November 17, 2004). "Arthur H. Robinson, 89; Cartographer Hailed for Map's Elliptical Design". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
6. New York Times News Service (November 16, 2004). "Arthur H. Robinson, 89 Geographer improved world map". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
7. Ipbuker, C. (July 2005). "A Computational Approach to the Robinson Projection". Survey Review. 38 (297): 204–217. doi:10.1179/sre.2005.38.297.204 . Retrieved 2019-02-17.
8. "Table for Constructing the Robinson Projection". RadicalCartography.net. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
9. Snyder, John P.; Voxland, Philip M. (1989). "An Album of Map Projections". (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1453. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 82–83, 222–223. doi:10.3133/pp1453 http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1453/report.pdf . Retrieved 2019-02-18.Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. Richardson, R. T. (1989). "Area deformation on the Robinson projection". The American Cartographer. 16 (4): 294–296. doi:10.1559/152304089783813936.
11. From the formulas below, this can be calculated as ${\displaystyle {\frac {1.3523}{0.8487\cdot 2\pi }}\approx 0.2536}$.
• Arthur H. Robinson (1974). "A New Map Projection: Its Development and Characteristics". In: International Yearbook of Cartography. Vol 14, 1974, pp. 145–155.
• John B. Garver Jr. (1988). "New Perspective on the World". In: National Geographic, December 1988, pp. 911–913.
• John P. Snyder (1993). Flattening The Earth—2000 Years of Map Projections, The University of Chicago Press. pp. 214–216.