Looking directly down from the ISS, we see essentially a map.
I'm working on a project using GIS and would like to use the same scale, e.g. "1:500,000" if someone has done an analysis on it. I can't seem to get it exactly correct. I'm having trouble with the curvature and also misleading photos (where zoom was used) on the Internet.
If anyone has conducted this analysis, what is the ratio between distance on a 'map' (astronauts view) and the corresponding distance on the ground that they see? A range is acceptable, as there are minor differences all over the place.
EDIT for clarification: Essentially, I'd like to make a map that appears similar to a snapshot of what someone would see or take a direct picture of looking immediately 'down' from the ISS. I must set my map to Xcm:YYcm My problem is there are many conflicting images on google-search and even on NASA TV, because people are using zoom or looking off to the curvature of the Earth.