I used an Equidistant Azimuthal Projection (Lambert's Equidistant Projection) to show a representation of earth viewed from above.
I needed a projection which would extend beyond the equator to the southern tropics.
A circular cutout simulates the earth viewed from above, and the illuminated portion by a fixed semicircle.
The landmasses in the northern hemisphere are I think fairly well represented, although there is some distortion in the tropics from a true view, which would require shifting elliptical lines of latitude.
