@stux wait, what!? It MOVES? Pray tell what are the implications of this amazing little chunk of information?
@rotn @peterdrake @stux
It will flip. It’s done it before. The only question is when.
@simonpease @rotn @peterdrake@qoto.org @stux
"It will flip." Your statement on the North pole would be the correct answer to so many questions ... ; remarkable.
I stumbled upon your post whilst catching up on people I had missed in the last few days. Thought it was about the public's attitude toward adopting more proactive covid mitigations. But no, the North pole. It's a bit like a Rohrschach test, we project ourselves into the answer. Remarkable.
I’ve had similar experiences, recently. It feels as if there are many things which could “flip”. Many things on a knife edge.
Magnetic North has flipped before in the planet’s history, as we can tell from the geological record, and according to my reading in “New Scientist” will do so again (but maybe not for millennia). I don’t think we will be waiting that long for some of the others, at least, I hope not.
@rotn @peterdrake @stux @simonpease
It’s complex & not perfectly understood, sure. The main dipole field varies, the smaller quadrupole fields vary, there are mobile features like the s Atlantic anomaly or the Indian depression where the field’s a bit weak, and it’s hard to model. But it’s not high on my lists of things to worry about. If this means more auroras in Europe, that’s fine by me. I’ll start worrying when they move down to Africa.
@BashStKid @rotn @peterdrake @stux
I’m with you. Happy New Year.
@simonpease @rotn @peterdrake @stux
Not saying I wouldn't mind a bit more of this ...
https://mastodonapp.uk/@Bjammin/109614367048016844
but I guess I'll have to stick with https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/
unless the core-mantle boundary gets really frisky for 2023 ...
@peterdrake @stux I found this. Best quote about what to expect: "forecasting the future is challenging and we cannot be sure,” 😄
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a32496561/why-magnetic-north-pole-moving/
But I would appreciate some reassurance if we can get some #Science experts friends to weigh in lol
#geology #earth #navigation