Pitney Bowes MapInfo Professional - Manual (Page 395)

Globe with Conic Projection
This type of projection is much more accurate for large regions or countries that are wider in the East-West
direction than in the North-South direction. There is much less distortion regionally because the touch
points of a cone are closer to the map surface than those of a cylinder.
Brazilian Polyconic Projection Map
As you can see from the previous figure, the conic maps are best for small regional areas. The
smaller-scale map has too much distortion to be useful.
A fourth type of projection, the Azimuthal projection, does not use cones or cylinders but a simple circle
that goes all the way around the globe over a particular point. This projection provides a "view from
space" over a particular point.
Globe with Azimuthal Projection
This type of projection is most useful when you need to work with a particular hemisphere. A hemisphere
need not be North-South or East-West based. The next figure uses the North Pole as the center point
for the Azimuthal Projection.
395 MapInfo Professional User Guide
Chapter 15: Working with Coordinate Systems and Projections