NorThern hemisphere
Azimuthal Projection (Stereographic) was commonly used in old astronomical instruments and star maps, two of the historical examples that are relevant to Miroko Maroko’s THE BRIGHTEST STARS are the Prague Astronomical Clock from 1410 and two richly decorated star maps by Albrecht Dürer from 1515 depicting Southern and Northern Hemispheres, derived from an Arabic type that depicted each hemisphere separately. It is believed that the projection was first used by Egyptians for star charts, sources suggest it was later known to Greek astronomers, but the earliest text describing the azimuthal equidistant projection is an 11th-century work by al-Biruni. The azimuthal equidistant projection preserves both distance and direction from the central point. The world is projected onto a flat surface from any point on the globe.