Friday, January 7, 2011

What is the difference between the geographic North Pole and the magnetic North Pole?

When we talk about the North Pole, we usually mean the northernmost point on the Earth’s surface. But there are actually two North Poles - the geographic North Pole and the magnetic North pole. The geographic North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, which is constantly covered with shifting sea ice. It is a fixed location at 90 North and is the northernmost point on the Earth, from which all points lie south. 

The magnetic North Pole, on the other hand, is determined by the 
Earth’s magnetic field. Did you know that the Earth acts like a giant magnet? The Earth’s magnetic North Pole is the point on the Earth’s surface at which the Earth’s magnetic field points vertically downwards. The magnetic North Pole location moves constantly with time. It lies hundreds of miles from the geographic North Pole, and its exact position is constantly shifting. 

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