A magnetic compass [ http://www-istp.gsf…] does not point toward the true North Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the Earth. Rather, it more closely points toward the North Magnetic Pole [ http://www.geolab.n…] of the Earth. The North Magnetic Pole is currently located in northern Canada [ http://www.odci.gov…]. It wanders in an elliptical [ http://xahlee.org/S…] path each day, and moves, on the average, more than forty meters northward each day. Evidence indicates [ http://www.sciencen…] that the North Magnetic Pole [ http://sunearth.gsf…] has wandered over much of the Earth's surface in the 4.5 billion years since the Earth formed. The Earth's magnetic field [ http://liftoff.msfc…] is created by Earth's partially ionized outer core [ http://www.sciencen…], which rotates more rapidly than the Earth's surface. Indicated in the above picture is Ellef Ringnes Island [ http://geonames.nrc…], the current location of Earth's North Magnetic Pole [ http://www.sciam.co…].
Explanation
A magnetic compass [ http://www-istp.gsf…] does not point toward the true North Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the Earth. Rather, it more closely points toward the North Magnetic Pole [ http://www.geolab.n…] of the Earth. The North Magnetic Pole is currently located in northern Canada [ http://www.odci.gov…]. It wanders in an elliptical [ http://xahlee.org/S…] path each day, and moves, on the average, more than forty meters northward each day. Evidence indicates [ http://www.sciencen…] that the North Magnetic Pole [ http://sunearth.gsf…] has wandered over much of the Earth's surface in the 4.5 billion years since the Earth formed. The Earth's magnetic field [ http://liftoff.msfc…] is created by Earth's partially ionized outer core [ http://www.sciencen…], which rotates more rapidly than the Earth's surface. Indicated in the above picture is Ellef Ringnes Island [ http://geonames.nrc…], the current location of Earth's North Magnetic Pole [ http://www.sciam.co…].
