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An experiment in perspective

A Different Equator

Choose two places to share a new equator, then drag either pin and watch the world rearrange.

Projection and actions

Latitude at the top and bottom of the map frame. Mercator cannot include the new poles.

Fullscreen fills the screen and may crop the map. Fit whole map shows the complete frame.

Loading Earth imagery…

The map requires canvas support. The coordinates and axis information appear below.
Mercator · cropped at ±{limit}° from your new equator.
Place your equator

Place your equator

Choose A or B and tap the map, drag a pin, or enter coordinates beside it.

Place pin
This reference map stays fixed while the map above changes.

Fine-tune the view

Coordinates use degrees. South and west are negative; north and east are positive.

Pin A
Pin B
0°

Move the left and right edges without changing the equator.

Display and map information

Compare the coordinate systems

These settings change the main map. The reference map stays fixed for placing your pins.

Earth’s original system

Amber · dashed

Your new system

Cyan · solid

70%

Highlighted equators keep their contrast as the grids fade.

N and S mark Earth’s poles; N′ and S′ mark the new poles. A pole outside the projection’s visible area is hidden.

Axis shift
0°
New north pole · latitude, longitude
90°, 0°
Same Earth, different coordinates
A valid pair of pins defines the new equator. The continents keep their places on the globe.
What changes when you move the equator?

Two locations define a great circle around the globe. This becomes the new equator, and its perpendicular axis gives us new poles. Moving the pins rotates that coordinate system over today’s geography; this is a map experiment, not a model of climate or planetary motion.

Mercator stretches distances as you move away from the equator. The default limit is ±85° from the new equator. Your chosen limit sets the top and bottom of the map frame. Lower limits zoom in; higher limits show more latitude and may repeat longitude across the width. Mercator never reaches the new poles. Equirectangular includes every latitude, with increasing horizontal distortion near the new poles.

The central maps in Mollweide, Hammer, Sinusoidal and Gall–Peters preserve relative areas. Gall–Peters has standard parallels at ±45°. The central world keeps the chosen projection; geography repeats horizontally beyond its edges to fill the frame.

Overlapping or opposite pins cannot define a unique equator. When the pins are within 0.1° of either position, the last valid orientation stays visible until you move a pin away. Flip north chooses which side of the equator appears at the top.

Read about rotated projections at PROJ