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Grandpa was holding something and looking at it curiously.

"What is that in your hand Grandpa?" I inquired.

"A map son"

I moved closer. Weird map, I thought. Bunch of planets and sun.

"That can't be right. Mars in between the Sun and Venus?" I was confused.

"Right" said Grandpa

"Hmm. And Neptune next to Venus? No planet between them? And I do not see Earth. No Earth?" I continued.

"Oh there is Earth. There are billions of these maps!" Grandpa in his calm voice.

What on earth was he talking about? I swear I did not see earth on that map.

Hint

The map can predict, kind of

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  • $\begingroup$ How detailed would you like your answer to be? And is the non-capitalisation of E intensional in the title? $\endgroup$
    – Ébe Isaac
    Feb 25, 2020 at 14:11
  • $\begingroup$ Nothing intentional. I expect the answer to explain all my curious questions! $\endgroup$
    – DrD
    Feb 25, 2020 at 14:16
  • $\begingroup$ One of the billions of maps published by the Flat Earth Society? $\endgroup$
    – COTO
    Feb 25, 2020 at 16:28
  • $\begingroup$ Once you know the answer you realise that the flavourtext before the block is really clever. I love this - what a great idea, and executed very nicely. You should be very happy with this one DEEM! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Feb 27, 2020 at 20:43
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks @Stiv. Appreciate the encouragement $\endgroup$
    – DrD
    Feb 28, 2020 at 12:51

2 Answers 2

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I think Grandpa's map, with Mars between the Sun and Venus, and Neptune next to Venus, is a

Palmistry map of his hand

enter image description here

There are over 15 billion of these 'maps' on Earth - which I can't find either.

OP points out there are four hand shapes in palmistry - Earth/Air/Water/Fire - the hand was Earth.

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  • $\begingroup$ You can say that there are roughly 7.5 billion people on earth, and so approximately 15 billion of your answer? $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Feb 27, 2020 at 12:03
  • $\begingroup$ @El-Guest, I agree - have the total on the last line. The source is in the answer body - see edit - in case the image looks home-made, and most of other versions I saw had Apollo for the Sun. Still see no Earth, but Grandpa may have been gardening. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    Feb 27, 2020 at 12:09
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    $\begingroup$ @Tom In Palmistry there are 4 types of hands. Water, fire, wiind and Earth. So the hand itself can be Earth. $\endgroup$
    – DrD
    Feb 27, 2020 at 12:55
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These are

Sky at a Glance maps

Mars between the Sun and Venus. Neptune next to Venus.

These would be correct at certain times of the year based on the orbital position of the planets.

No Earth.

These maps are from the perspective of an observer on Earth.

Billions of these maps.

Not sure about billions, but these maps can be produced for any day/time you want. Astronomy magazines typically include such maps for near sunrise and sunset to help you know what is visible in the sky. Also, you can have a map produced for, say, your child's birthday, as a memento or a gift.

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  • $\begingroup$ The number Billions is real @majorbanzai. $\endgroup$
    – DrD
    Feb 25, 2020 at 20:30

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