The new map of the Magnetic North Pole

 The curiosity about the location of the Magnetic North Pole is due to the fact that a few weeks ago the  weeks ago, the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center announced that the geomagnetic model of the Earth, known as the geomagnetic model of the Earth, known as the World Magnetic Model, which is used for data for navigation by the U.S. Department of Defense, for maritime and commercial purposes, for GPS satellite networks, and so on, up to the totality of smartphones Android and iOS, needed a quick update, well in advance of the forecast.

This is because the planet's magnetic north has shifted. In itself, this is not news, not surprising, it has been happening forever: what is surprising, however, is the speed with which it has shifted in recent months, accumulating such a difference from the current version of the reference model (published in 2015) that an update is necessary.

The two U.S. agencies that provide the various versions of the model, software and related documentation (different versions depending on the uses and "customers") have released the new map showing the current, precise position of the Magnetic North Pole with respect to the Geographic North Pole (the latter being the point where it leaves - virtually - the Earth's axis of rotation). The axis of the magnetic field is now tilted 9.34° from the Earth's axis of rotation, and has varied by 2.5° over the past 22 years.

There is no answer to this question; we do not currently know how to estimate it. We do know, however, that the two axes have never coincided: for as long as data have been available, the axis of the magnetic field has moved relative to the Earth's axis.  The anomaly, compared to what is considered normal, is that from 2015 to the present, the shift has occurred at an unprecedented rate.

Our planet is behaving like a large spherical magnet, driven by a "magnetic dipole".

magnetic dipole", that is, a kind of giant magnet located at the center of the Earth, whose axis is offset from the Earth's axis of rotation by about 11 degrees (this is an average and the current value, which is lower, contributes to this average). This means that the geographic north and south poles and the magnetic north and south poles are not at the same point. We know that the Earth's magnetic field can change direction and intensity (which can be measured).

Knowing the exact location of the Earth's magnetic axis is not just a curiosity, it is of great importance, even in our daily lives.

NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the US Forest Service, and their counterparts in many countries around the world use this information for mapping, for determining and monitoring orbits, and for air traffic management: air traffic controllers give pilots runway coordinates related to magnetic field data. Finally, manufacturers of electronics, smartphones, and related software rely on the location of the magnetic field axis to provide accurate applications for compasses, maps, geolocation, and GPS services.

Image: The new location of the magnetic North Pole: a map released by the U.S. agencies that update the World Magnetic Model National Centers for Environmental Information