What are azimuthal projections?

Azimuthal projections are like flat maps made from a round ball, just like how you might flatten a balloon to see its whole shape.

Imagine you have a globe, it’s round, and you can look at it from any direction. Now, think of a pizza pan, flat, circular, and perfect for holding your favorite pizza. An azimuthal projection is like pressing the globe onto the pizza pan, so you get a flat map that shows directions from one central point, just like how you can see all the slices of pizza from the center.

When you press the globe onto the pizza pan, some parts might stretch or shrink, but everything keeps its correct direction from the middle. This is useful for maps that show directions, like when pilots or sailors need to know where they're going.

Think of a lighthouse. From the top of the lighthouse, you can see all the ships around it. An azimuthal projection is like drawing a map from that lighthouse, everything keeps its direction from there, even if the distance isn’t perfect.