Mercator Projection map 

Map-making began early in  history. The Greeks and Scripture viewed the world as a sphere. Major improvements developed at Alexandria around 225 BC. European maps in the middle Ages were more symbolic. They were helpful for sailing near land but not in the open ocean. The mercator projection map was very useful for sailors It simplified sailing with a compass. The mercator projection map was an important advance that took 100 years to become popular. It  combined geographic details and practical sailing charts. The mercator projection map removed the need to memorize rules of thumb.

      Mercator 

Gerardus Mercator was born in 1512. Mercator went to school to become a priest. At the university he experienced a crisis of faith studying Aristotle. Aristotle contradicts christanity but the Roman catholic church supported Aristotle’s philosophy. Contrading Aristotle was almost considered heresy. The same problems that Mercater faced in the university are still with us today. Mercator sought counsel from an older monk who had been through something similar. Francis the monk ( the older monk) helped salvage Mercator’s faith. It also introduced Mercator to globe-making and promised him a career. Mercator is known for the mercator is known for the Mercator projection and the atlas. The world atlas contained maps and christian commentary. Mercator wrote commentaries on the Bible and he experienced religious persecution. Mercator became famous during his lifetime.  His atlas wasn’t the first to be published even though it became the standard.

Tycho Brahe 

Tycho Brahe was born into Danish nobility. Raised by his uncle he went to school and studied Aristotle. Watching an eclipse when he was 13 years old sparked his interest in astronomy. He wanted to improve the accuracy of astronomical predictions. He returned home and committed to becoming a full time scientist. This helped booster the copernican model of the universe. He built his own instruments to develop greater measurement accuracy. He created a compromise model that preserved his Biblical interpretation. Tycho’s geo-heliocentric model briefly became popular. It was a comfortable compromise for astronomers. Tycho also won the support of the elite like King Frederick ll. Tycho developed horoscopes for rich people and he debated other scholars about their theories.          

The backstaff 

Economic growth engaged England in the Age Of Discovery. Marco polo helped fuel interest in finding the Northwest passage. It was another route to the East. John Davis persuaded Queen Elisabeth into fuding his expedition to find it. Davis became a master mariner and invented the backstaff. The backstaff determines the sun’s altitude without you having to look into the sun. It casts a shadow as the marking line. The backstaff had improvements over time.