What projection is created using a cylinder placed around the Earth?

The Mercator projection is created using a cylinder placed around the Earth. This cylindrical projection method involves wrapping a cylinder around the globe and projecting the Earth's features onto the cylinder, which is then unwrapped into a flat map.

One of the significant characteristics of the Mercator projection is that it preserves angles, making it useful for navigation, particularly for maritime purposes. However, this accuracy in angles comes at the expense of area distortion, especially as one moves away from the equator, where regions appear significantly larger than they are on a globe.

In contrast, the other projections listed serve different purposes. The Robinson projection is a compromise projection that seeks to minimize distortion across multiple aspects such as area, shape, and distance, making it visually appealing but not strictly conformal or equal-area. The Lambert projection is often used for aeronautical charts and maintains conformality for certain latitudes. The Orthographic projection, while visually depicting the Earth as it appears from space, does not offer practical navigation advantages like the Mercator does.

Therefore, the choice of the Mercator projection aligns with its method of using a cylindrical surface for mapping Earth’s features.