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  • AP Photo/David Goldman

    Earth's fast-moving magnetic north pole is messing with navigation

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    02.04.2019

    The Earth's magnetic north pole is constantly on the move, but it's now enough of a problem that it's having a significant effect on navigation technology. Scientists at the National Centers for Environmental Information have delivered an update to the World Magnetic Model a year early after "unplanned variations in the Arctic region" (read: quick movements) made the existing magnetic north inaccurate. That's a problem for virtually every device with a magnetic compass, including smartphones, military vehicles and airliners.