Nautical chart always true north, rather than magnetic north, towards which a compass points. Most charts include a compass rose depicting the variation between magnetic and true north. However, the use of the Mercator projection is not without its drawbacks. Mercator's technique was to make the lines of longitude parallel. On the real globe, the lines of longitude converge as one goes north or south away from the equator, until they meet at the pole. This distortion means that horizontal distances are exaggerated. Mercator's solution, imperfect as it might be, was to increase the distance between lines of latitude in proportion; in
Equator satellite had shown the equatorial "diameter" from longitude 11° West to 169° East to be greater than its "diameter" ninety degrees away. The Equator passes through the land of 11 countries. Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the Equator passes through: Despite its name, no part of Equatorial Guinea lies on the Equator. However, its island of Annobón is south of the Equator, and the rest of the country lies to the north. Seasons result from the tilt of the Earth's axis compared to the plane of its revolution around the Sun. Throughout the year the northern and