Magnetic North

Magnetic North is the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field lines that point towards the Earth’s north magnetic pole. It is different from True North, which is the direction of the Earth’s rotation axis and points towards the North Pole. Magnetic North and True North differ by up to around 500 kilometers. An analogy to help understand Magnetic North is to think of a magnetic compass. A compass will always point towards Magnetic North, regardless of where you are located on the Earth. Magnetic North also moves over time due to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. The movement is usually slow, around 10-15 kilometers per year, but can change more rapidly due to natural phenomena like solar storms. Fun Fact: The North Magnetic Pole has moved over 1000 kilometers in the last few hundred years.