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N g is geographic or true north, N m is magnetic north, and δ is magnetic declination. Magnetic declination (also called magnetic variation) is the angle between magnetic north and true north at a particular location on the Earth's surface. The angle can change over time due to polar wandering.
This image shows magnetic declination, or the angle between magnetic and geographic north, according to the World Magnetic Model released in 2025. Red is magnetic north to the east of geographic ...
Along this line, true north is the same as magnetic north. West of the agonic line a compass will give a reading that is east of true north and by convention the magnetic declination is positive. Conversely, east of the agonic line a compass will point west of true north and the declination is negative. [30]
A magnet's North pole is defined as the pole that is attracted by the Earth's North Magnetic Pole, in the arctic region, when the magnet is suspended so it can turn freely. Since opposite poles attract, the North Magnetic Pole of the Earth is really the south pole of its magnetic field (the place where the field is directed downward into the ...
In mid-December of 2024, scientists officially updated the World Magnetic Model (WMM), which helps keep track of our planet’s magnetic north and its chaotic and relatively unpredictable movements.
Like the North Magnetic Pole, the North Geomagnetic Pole attracts the north pole of a bar magnet and so is in a physical sense actually a magnetic south pole. It is the center of the 'open' magnetic field lines which connect to the interplanetary magnetic field and provide a direct route for the solar wind to reach the ionosphere.
True north refers to the geographical location of the north pole while magnetic north refers to the direction towards which the north pole of a magnetic object (as found in a compass) will point. The angular difference between true and magnetic north is called variation , which varies depending on location. [ 18 ]
Compass needles in the Northern Hemisphere point toward the magnetic North Pole, although the exact location of it changes from time to time as the contours of Earth’s magnetic field also change.