Which projection uses rays originate from the center of the Earth and is tangent to the equator, used for navigation across polar or trans-oceanic routes?

• A. Orthographic Projection
• B. Gnomonic Projection
• C. Stereographic Projection
• D. Lambert Conformal Projection

Answer: (B)

In a gnomonic projection, points on the globe are projected onto a plane tangent to the sphere by rays that emerge from the Earth's center. This specific setup makes every great-circle arc on the globe appear as a straight line on the map. Since ships and aircraft typically follow great-circle routes to travel the shortest distance between two points, this projection is ideal for plotting long-distance paths across oceans or over high latitudes. The trade-off is distortion: as you move away from the tangency point, shapes, areas, and distances become increasingly distorted, so the map is most reliable for planning lines of travel near the center of the projection.