Earth's magnetic north pole is on the move - WGME

Earth's magnetic north pole is on the move. (WGME)

PORTLAND (WGME) – Earth's magnetic north pole is on the move.

So much so, federal agencies released an update this week of where "true north" really is.

True north on Earth is never constant, but this week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released it's "World Magnetic Model" nearly a year ahead of schedule.

"It's moving much more rapidly now than it has before and consequently all of our calculations about where magnetic declination lie have to change," USM Geography Professor Dr. Matthew Bampton said.

Experts at the University of Southern Maine say while earth's geographic north pole is fixed, the planet's magnetic pole, where a compass points, is wandering about 34 miles a year.

"So it's constantly changing, and if we wait long enough, there's extremely good evidence to indicate that the north and the south poles of the earth’s magnetic field will reverse," Bampton said.

While most of us don't walk around with a physical compass anymore, we do have one on our smart phones, and the experts say not to worry, because that north will still be pretty accurate.

"iPhone compass, hand compass if you're a boy scout navigating in the woods, you're probably not going to notice the difference right yet," Bampton said.

Experts say the only part of the U.S. to see a change might be northern Alaska, but GPS will be fine.

"If you're relying on a compass in those places, you just have to be a bit more careful," USM Cartography Professor Dr. Matthew Edney said.

And while the change is fast right now, experts say we won't see major changes for thousands of years.

"You know, you're probably going to be looking at like iPhone 27 before your compass stops working on your electronic device," Bampton said.

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