Mapping Phobos and Deimos
From a cartographic perspective, the problem with Mars’s two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, is that they are not in the least bit spherical or even spheroidal — they are quite bumpy and irregular. If you thought map projections were problematic before, well. The Planetary Society Blog reports on the use of architect Chuck Clark’s Constant Scale Natural Boundary (CSNB) map projection; the end result is something that Bucky Fuller might have come up with. The projection preserves proportions and splits along natural boundaries. The blog post includes a cutout map of Phobos (image at right) that can be made into a papercraft “globe”; this PDF file shows Deimos. Via MAPS-L.
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