Editing Stereographic projection (section)

===Cartography===
{{main|Stereographic map projection}}

The fundamental problem of cartography is that no map from the sphere to the plane can accurately represent both angles and areas. In general, area-preserving [[map projection]]s are preferred for [[statistics|statistical]] applications, while angle-preserving (conformal) map projections are preferred for [[navigation]].

Stereographic projection falls into the second category. When the projection is centered at the Earth's north or south pole, it has additional desirable properties: It sends [[Meridian (geography)|meridian]]s to rays emanating from the origin and [[Circle of latitude|parallel]]s to circles centered at the origin.

<gallery class="center" widths="250px" heights="250px">
File:Stereographic projection SW.JPG|Stereographic projection of the world north of 30°S. 15° graticule.
File:Stereographic with Tissot's Indicatrices of Distortion.svg|The stereographic projection with [[Tissot's indicatrix]] of deformation.
</gallery>