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visualizing map distortion d3v4

✓ Published0🌍 Public
PPhilippe Rivière
Last edited Apr 30, 2017
Created on Apr 30, 2017

A side-by-side visualization demonstrates map projection distortion by pairing an interactive Aitoff projection with a fixed orthographic globe. The user can pan and zoom the left map via `d3.zoom`, while the right globe rotates to match the map’s center using `projection.invert` and `projection.rotate`. A grid of red dots, generated as screen coordinates, is overlaid on both views; on the map they appear directly, while on the globe their positions are computed through the inverse projection, revealing how distances and shapes stretch across different projections. The implementation uses `d3.geoPath`, `d3.geoGraticule`, `d3.geoProjection`, and TopoJSON world data, with SVG rendering.

AI-generated description

Ported to d3v4 by Philippe Rivière from <a href='http://bl.ocks.org/enjalot/'>Ian Johnson</a>'s block: <a href='http://bl.ocks.org/enjalot/bd552e711b8325c64729'>visualizing map distortion</a>


@enjalot: Whenever we try to represent our 3D earth on a 2D map we necessarily introduce distortion. This tool attempts to visualize the phenomenon.

Inspiration

Original prompt by @curran
Bounding box solution by @tyrasd

References

projection comparison
map zoom

mit Licensed

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