>> ^srd:

I fail to see why this is exciting. The magnetic north pole has always been off and always been moving (albeit slowly in the range of a few kilometers per year). My old school atlas from 1988 puts it in the Canadian arctic, in the Parry islands (roughly 100 degrees west, 75 degrees north).
Worse than the drift in the north pole are local disturbances in the forc^H^H^H^H magnetic fields, causing compasses to point over 30 degrees away from true north. If you're dependent on a magnetic compass for navigating, chances are you also have an up-to-date map catalogueing the local deviations.
Most aircraft have gyros for these reasons. Alternatively, you can always magnetize the aircraft and place it in a calm body of water. It will always point true north.


The reason it is slightly more exciting/crazy is because the rate of change is accelerating... drastically. From 1970, it has changed from 9 km/year to 41 km/year, to what it is now, nearly 64km a year. The acceleration might just be par for course, but it could also hint at a pole change. Really, we just don't know, and like all things, change scares us to death.

I fail to see why this is exciting. The magnetic north pole has always been off and always been moving (albeit slowly in the range of a few kilometers per year). My old school atlas from 1988 puts it in the Canadian arctic, in the Parry islands (roughly 100 degrees west, 75 degrees north).

Worse than the drift in the north pole are local disturbances in the forc^H^H^H^H magnetic fields, causing compasses to point over 30 degrees away from true north. If you're dependent on a magnetic compass for navigating, chances are you also have an up-to-date map catalogueing the local deviations.

Most aircraft have gyros for these reasons. Alternatively, you can always magnetize the aircraft and place it in a calm body of water. It will always point true north.