Editing Azimuthal equidistant projection (section)

== Limitation ==
With the [[Earth's circumference|circumference of the Earth]] being approximately {{convert|40,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}, the maximum distance that can be displayed on an azimuthal equidistant projection map is half the circumference, or about {{convert|20,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}. For distances less than {{convert|10,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} distortions are minimal.{{efn|The country boundaries and landmasses in the azimuthal equidistant maps below look similar to the way they look on globes within the regions inside the red circles of radius {{convert|10,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}}} For distances {{convert|10,000|-|15,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} the distortions are moderate.{{efn|The [[Indian subcontinent]] and [[Arabian Peninsula]] are between the red and purple circles in the azimuthal equidistant map below centered about Los Angeles (circle radii between {{convert|10,000|-|15,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}}), and hence look squished, yet still recognizable, relative to the way they look on a globe}} Distances greater than {{convert|15,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} are severely distorted.{{efn|The [[Island of Madagascar]], off the [[East Africa|East Coast of Africa]] is outside the purple circle of radius {{convert|15,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} in the azimuthal equidistant map below centered about Los Angeles, and hence looks much more stretched out than it would on a globe}}

If the azimuthal equidistant projection map is centered about a point whose [[Antipodes|antipodal point]] lies on land and the map is extended to the maximum distance of {{convert|20,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} 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]].

{{Multiple image
| direction         = horizontal
| width             = 260
| image1            = Los Angeles centered azimuthal equidistant projection.gif
| alt1              = An azimuthal equidistant projection centered about Los Angeles.
| caption1          = Map centered about [[Los Angeles]], whose [[Antipodes|antipodal point]] is in the south [[Indian Ocean]]<br>{{hlist|{{legend0|#21B04B|[[California]]}}}}
| image2            = Taipei centered azimuthal equidistant projection.gif
| alt2              = An azimuthal equidistant projection centered about Taipei.
| caption2          = Map centered about [[Taipei]], whose antipodal point is near the [[Argentina–Paraguay border]]<br>{{hlist|{{legend0|#21B04B|[[Taiwan]]}}|{{legend0|#FFFF00|[[Brazil]]}}|{{legend0|#FFA500|[[Paraguay]]}}|{{legend0|#FFC0CB|[[Argentina]]}}|{{legend0|#ADFF2F|[[Chile]]}}|{{legend0|#DDA0DD|[[Bolivia]]}}|{{legend0|#DCDCDC|[[Uruguay]]}}}}
| header            = Sample azimuthal equidistant projection maps of maximum distance<br><small>(radius ≈ {{convert|20,000|km|mi|0|abbr=on}})</small>
| footer            = {{legend-line|red solid 2px|Red circles: 10,000 km radius circles}} {{legend-line|purple solid 2px|Purple circles: 15,000 km radius circles}}
| footer_align      = center
| header_align      = center
| align             = center
}}