North magnetic pole

The Earth acts like a giant magnet.

It has a special spot in the north. This spot is called the north magnetic pole. It is not in the same place as the real north pole.

This spot moves all the time. It moves from Canada toward Russia. It moves about 34 miles every year.

A compass helps us find it. The needle points toward this spot. This helps people find their way.

Scientists use satellites to watch it move. It is a very busy place!

The Earth acts like a giant magnet. It has a special spot in the north. We call this the north magnetic pole.

This spot is not at the true north pole. At the magnetic pole, the magnetic field points straight down. If you held a compass there, the needle would point down. This is why scientists call them magnetic dip poles.

This spot moves all the time. It moves because of changes in the Earth's outer core. In 2001, the pole was near Ellesmere Island in Canada. By 2007, it had moved to 80.5 degrees North. Now, it is moving away from Canada toward Siberia. It moves about 34 miles each year.

A compass needle points to magnetic north. But true north is different. The gap between these two directions is called magnetic declination. Maps show this gap to help travelers. In North America, there is a line called the agonic line. On this line, magnetic north and true north are the same.

Scientists used to think magnets were pulled to a magic island. Now, we use satellites to track the pole's path.

The Earth acts like a giant magnet with a special spot in the north. This spot is called the north magnetic pole. It is not in the same place as the geographic north pole. At this specific location, the Earth's magnetic field points straight down toward the ground. If you had a compass that could move in every direction, the needle would point straight down at the earth. Scientists sometimes call these points magnetic dip poles because of this vertical dip.

This pole is constantly on the move. It shifts because of changes in the Earth's outer core. These changes cause the magnetic field to flow and change shape. In 2001, the pole was located west of Ellesmere Island in Canada. By 2005, it was at 80.4 degrees North. In 2009, it was at 86.2 degrees North and moving toward Russia. Now, the pole is moving from Canada toward Siberia at about 34 miles every year.

People have been studying this moving target for a long time. In 1600, William Gilbert suggested that the Earth itself is a magnet. He was the first to define the pole as the place where the field points down. Later, James Clark Ross led a group to the pole in 1831. He found it at Cape Adelaide on the Boothia Peninsula. In 1903, Roald Amundsen found the pole in a different spot. In 1947, scientists Paul Serson and Jack Clark found it at Allen Lake.

Finding the pole can be a very hard job for explorers. In 1996, David Hempleman-Adams led a team of novices to the pole. This group included Sue Stockdale, the first British woman to reach it. They used a tool called a magnetometer to confirm their location. In the past, people had different ideas about where the pole was. Some early sailors thought compasses were pulled toward a magic island of magnets.

Understanding the pole helps travelers find their way. A compass points to magnetic north, but this is not true north. The difference between these two directions is called magnetic declination. Maps often show this gap so hikers and sailors do not get lost. In North America, there is a special path called the agonic line. On this line, magnetic north and true north are exactly the same. This helps people use their compasses to find the real north pole.

The north magnetic pole is a specific location in Earth's Northern Hemisphere. At this point, the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward. If a magnetic compass needle could rotate in three dimensions, it would point straight down at the ground. This location is distinct from the geographic north pole. Scientists also refer to these points as magnetic dip poles. This name comes from the vertical "dip" of the magnetic field lines at these specific spots.

Understanding the polarity of this pole requires looking at how magnets work. All magnets have two poles where magnetic flux lines enter and emerge. In a typical magnet, opposite poles attract one another. Because the Earth's north magnetic pole attracts the north pole of a compass needle, it acts like a magnetic south pole. This means the magnetic north pole is physically located in the southern hemisphere of the Earth's magnetic field. The north and south magnetic poles are not antipodal. This means a straight line between them does not pass through the center of the Earth.

This movement is caused by changes in the Earth's outer core. Magnetic changes and flux lobe elongation in the core cause the pole to shift over time. The pole does not stay in one place. It moves continually northwestward. Since 1970, its rate of motion has accelerated. In the 2001 to 2007 period, the average speed was about 15 kilometers per year. As of early 2019, the pole was moving from Canada toward Siberia. It was traveling at a rate of approximately 55 kilometers per year.

History shows how our understanding of this phenomenon has evolved. Early European navigators had many different theories. Some believed compass needles were attracted to a hypothetical "magnetic island" called Rupes Nigra. Others thought they were pulled toward Polaris, the pole star. In 1600, William Gilbert proposed that the Earth itself acts like a giant magnet. He was the first to define the north magnetic pole as the point where the field points vertically down.

Many expeditions have attempted to locate the moving pole. James Clark Ross led the first group to reach it in 1831. He found it at Cape Adelaide on the Boothia Peninsula. Roald Amundsen found the pole in a different location in 1903. In 1947, scientists Paul Serson and Jack Clark located it at Allen Lake. During the Cold War, the United States conducted Project Polaris. This was a classified study of the Canadian Archipelago. A director named Frank O. Klein noticed that fluxgate compasses behaved unexpectedly. He discovered that the magnetic dip pole was actually an elliptical region rather than a single point.

Tracking the pole is difficult because it moves away from inhabited areas. In 2001, the pole was west of Ellesmere Island. By 2005, it was at 80.4 degrees North. In 2009, it was at 86.2 degrees North and moving toward Russia. By 2021, projections showed it had moved beyond the Canadian Arctic. NOAA provided a 2024 location of 86 degrees North and 142 degrees East. It is predicted to drift to 138 degrees East by 2025. Because of this movement, scientists expect to use satellite data instead of ground surveys in the future.

This knowledge is vital for navigation and understanding the magnetosphere. A compass aligns with the local geomagnetic field. The difference between magnetic north and true north is called magnetic declination. Most maps show this value so travelers can find true north. In North America, the agonic line is where magnetic north and true north are the same. This line runs from the north magnetic pole through Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico.

Finally, the north magnetic pole is different from the north geomagnetic pole. The geomagnetic pole is the center of the magnetosphere region where the Aurora Borealis is visible. While the magnetic pole is a specific point of vertical field lines, the geomagnetic pole is part of a theoretical dipole model. This model assumes the field is tilted about 10 degrees from the rotation axis. As of 2015, the north geomagnetic pole was near Ellesmere Island, Canada. Like the magnetic pole, it is also drifting toward Siberia.