maximum distance that can be displayed on an azimuthal equidistant projection map is half the circumference, or about . For distances less than distortions are minimal. For distances the distortions are moderate. Distances greater than are severely distorted. If the azimuthal equidistant projection map is centered about a point whose antipodal point lies on land and the map is extended to the maximum distance of the antipode point smears into a large circle. This is shown in the example of two maps centered about Los Angeles, and Taipei. The antipode for Los Angeles is in the south Indian Ocean hence there is not much significant distortion of land masses for the Los Angeles centered map except for East Africa and Madagascar. On the other hand, Taipei's antipode is near the Argentina–Paraguay border, causing the Taipei centered map to severely distort South America. Sample azimuthal equidistant projection maps Red circles = 10,000 km radius circles Purple circles = 15,000 km radius circles Applications Azimuthal equidistant projection maps can be useful in terrestrial point to point communication. This type of projection allows the operator to easily determine in which direction to point their directional antenna. The operator simply finds on the map the location of the target transmitter or receiver (i.e. the other antenna being communicated with) and uses the map to determine the azimuth angle needed to point the operator's antenna. The operator would use an electric rotator to point the antenna. The map can also be used in one way communication. For example if the operator is looking to receive signals from a distant radio station, this type of projection could help identify the direction of the distant radio station. In order for the map to be useful, the map should be centered as close as possible about the location of the operator's antenna. Azimuthal equidistant projection maps can also be useful to show ranges of missiles, as demonstrated by the map on the right. See also Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection List of map projections Modern flat Earth beliefs References External links Table of examples and properties of all common projections, from radicalcartography.net Online Azimuthal Equidistant Map Generator An interactive Java Applet to study the metric deformations of the Azimuthal Equidistant Projection. GeographicLib provides a class for performing azimuthal equidistant projections centered at any point on the ellipsoid. Animated US National Weather Service Wind Data for Azimuthal equidistant projection. Generate