Wednesday, February 06, 2019

Which way is north? Not so fast...

It isn't where we left it.

Over the course of geologic time, magnetic north wanders like the oft-maligned "drunken sailor". And it reverses polarity on a not-entirely-stochastic basis. It seems the pole is on the move again—with faster than normal speed—and models will need to be updated to keep pace.

As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model

The North Magnetic Pole Is Shifting East, Fast

Even in the era of GPS, Earth's magnetic field is still an important component in terrestrial navigation.

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