How Do Compasses Tell Which Way Is North at the South Pole?
As compasses draw closer to the magnetic North and South Poles, they become less reliable. magine you're packing for the trip of a lifetime: Antarctica! You're going to see the South Pole and maybe hang out with some penguins. But how are you going to find the actual South Pole? You might think that you would reach for a compass first. Compasses — navigation instruments that contain magnetized pointers — have helped people find their way around Earth for thousands of years. The planet's magnetic field attracts one end of the compass's magnetic pointer toward the North Pole, so compass users always know which way magnetic north lies. However, you may be surprised to learn that compasses behave strangely when they are close to the South Pole. Why is that? Earth has both geographic and magnetic poles. The geographic North and South Poles mark the opposite ends of a central axis that Earth spins on. However, the positions of the North and South magnetic poles aren...