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By convention, declination is positive when magnetic north is east of true north, and negative when it is to the west. Isogonic lines are lines on the Earth's surface along which the declination has the same constant value, and lines along which the declination is zero are called agonic lines. The lowercase Greek letter δ (delta) is frequently ...
Declination is positive for an eastward deviation of the field relative to true north. It can be estimated by comparing the magnetic north–south heading on a compass with the direction of a celestial pole. Maps typically include information on the declination as an angle or a small diagram showing the relationship between magnetic north and ...
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]
By the 1940s, magnetic north had moved northwest from its 1831 position by about 250 miles (400 kilometers). In 1948, it reached Prince Wales Island, and by 2000 it had departed Canadian shores.
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.
Isoclinic lines for the year 2020. Magnetic dip results from the tendency of a magnet to align itself with lines of magnetic field. As Earth's magnetic field lines are not parallel to the surface, the north end of a compass needle will point upward in the Southern Hemisphere (negative dip) or downward in the Northern Hemisphere (positive dip).
The resulting bearing indicated is the magnetic bearing to the target. Again, if one is using "true" or map bearings, and the compass does not have preset, pre-adjusted declination, one must additionally add or subtract magnetic declination to convert the magnetic bearing into a true bearing. The exact value of the magnetic declination is place ...
Magnetic variation (also known as magnetic declination) is different depending on the geographic position on the globe. The Magnetic North Pole is currently in Northern Canada and is moving generally south. A straight line can be drawn from the Geographic North Pole, down to the Magnetic North Pole and then continued straight down to the equator.