Thursday, December 31, 2009

North Magnetic Pole moving 64km a year...

North Magnetic Pole Moving Due to Core Flux
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091224-north-pole-magnetic-russia-earth-core.html
Earth's north magnetic pole is racing toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 kilometers) a year due to magnetic changes in the planet's core, new research says. 
Magnetic north, which is the place where compass needles actually point, is near but not exactly in the same place as the geographic North Pole. Right now, magnetic north is close to Canada's Ellesmere Island. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Magnetic_Pole
The Earth's North Magnetic Pole is the point on the Earth's surface at which the Earth's magnetic field points vertically downwards (i.e., the "dip" is 90°). This point moves gradually with time. As described later in this article, the North Magnetic Pole is physically a magnetic field south pole. The North Magnetic Pole should not be confused with the lesser known North Geomagnetic Pole, described later in this article. 
In 2001, the North Magnetic Pole was determined by the Geological Survey of Canada to lie near Ellesmere Island in northern Canada at 81.3°N 110.8°W. It was estimated to be at 82.7°N 114.4°W in 2005. In 2009, it was moving toward Russia at almost 40 miles (64 km) per year due to magnetic changes in the earth's core.[1] 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_north
True north is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole. True north usually differs from magnetic north (the direction of the magnetic north pole) and grid north (the direction northwards along the grid lines of a map projection). 

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