Utpal Mukhopadhyay is a teacher of mathematics at Barasat Satyabharati Vidyapith. He is actively engaged in science popularization and regularly writes articles in astronomy, mathematics and physics for the public.

In this article we present briefly some preliminary ideas of map projection, followed by a detailed account of the Mercator projection.

During our school days we get acquainted with maps and atlases because without them the learning of geography remains incomplete. Any attentive student would have noticed that at least one world map in the atlas bears under it the words Mercator's Projection. But most of us do not know what `Projection' means, or who Mercator was. Perhaps we do not know also the deep relation between mathematics and geography, or how a map depicted on a spherical globe can be converted into a map on a flat sheet of paper.

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Address for Correspondence
Utpal Mukhopadhyay
Barasat Satyabharati Vidyapith
P.O. Nabapally 700126
Dist. North 24-Parganas
West Bengal, India.