Terrestrial magnetism
Mercator’s interest in terrestrial magnetism made him a forerunner in this area. He tried to explain why the magnetic north pole did not correspond to the geographic one […]
centre informatique
Stars and constellations to guide travellers
Mercator sought to improve his terrestrial globe by showing stars, as Gemma Frisius had done, which travellers could use as reference points […]
Wind roses and rhumb lines
Mercator’s printed globes were the first to display a system of wind roses that served as starting points for rhumb lines […]
Rectifications of ancient geography
Knowledge of geography had been dominated by the Ptolemaic view since Antiquity. Yet this conception was gradually discredited by new observations […]
A pioneering series
Mercator did not invent everything. Like all scientists he drew on the discoveries of his predecessors, here and there making corrections or contributing innovations of his own […]
Printing plates
To print the terrestrial globe in 1541, Mercator used copper plates for the first time. He would use copper again ten years later to make his celestial globe […]
Stands
The horizon rings are made of several dovetailed pieces of oak decorated with printed information […]
Horizon rings
The horizon rings are made of several dovetailed pieces of oak decorated with printed information […]
Composition of the spheres
This page presents the composition of the terrestrial globe in detail, from the inside towards the outside, thanks to stratigraphic cross-sections and an analysis of the constituent materials […]
Shells and layers
Each sphere is built of two hemispheres comprising multiple thin layers made of alternating materials. These inside layers are composed of cellulosic fibres […]