A map projection is any method of representing the surface of a sphere or other shape on
a plane. Map projections are necessary for creating maps. All map projections distort the
surface in some fashion. Depending on the purpose of the map, some distortions are
acceptable and others are not; therefore different map projections exist in order to
preserve some properties of the sphere-like body at the expense of other properties.
There is no limit to the number of possible map projections.