North Pole Shift

[gazza63]

Morning all

As most of you have heard the NORTH POLE has shifted 161 miles in 6 months during 2013...Alarming !

Will this have any effect on tracking of planets...etc during polar alignment? Or will there be no difference?

Is there anybody more knowledgeable about this, and what effects this will have on astronomy, if any.

Cheers.

[Pig]

I think the shift is really a correction of where it should be so all will be fine.

[stevepeverall]

I think it just the north magnetic pole which is moving and so doesn't affect astronomy.

At regular times in the past the earths magnetic pole has been known to 'flip' so that north becomes south and vice versa.

I have read that when this does happen it happens very quickly as magnetic field directions have been 'saved' as it were in hardening lava from volcanoes.

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Both the poles move. Infact the magnetic North Pole has moved about 800miles in the last 150years.

For telescope tracking, isnt it the celestrol North pole we use.

[Stevp]

This is the first time I've really looked at this, just watched this video

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/06/north-pole-shifts-161-miles-in-6-months.html?m=1

Seems to be a lot of scaremongering type language.

As said above, this is talking about the magnetic pole generated by rotation of the Earth core. Not the actual axis of rotation of the planet. (Which does actually move anyway, but this is not new)

I wouldn't worry, not a lot we can do about it!

[bob1957]

The shift is known as axial precession or precession of the equinoxes and is due to the "wobble" of the Earth spinning on its axis. Think of the wobble a spinning gyroscope has and it will give you an idea of what is happening. The Earth's precession is in effect slowly tracing out a cone around which Polaris appears to move. As to how this affects observation the Earth goes through one such complete precessional cycle in a period of approximately 26,000 years or 1° every 72 years, during which the positions of stars will slowly change in both equatorial coordinates and ecliptic longitude. Over this cycle, Earth's north axial pole moves from where it is now, within 1° of Polaris, in a circle around the ecliptic pole, with an angular radius of about 23.5 degrees. Essentially it will have no great effect on your polar alignment or observation, but star atlases such as Nortons have to be updated every so often to take precession into account. Hope this helps.

[TwoPi]

The magnetic north pole is moving all the time and has also flipped polarity many times in Earth's history. Nothing to worry about and no effect on astronomical polar alignment as Matt says. Although 161 miles sounds a lot, it translates into a small fraction of a degree on your compass from the UK.

See here for more from the British Geological Survey.

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Thats shift due to the actual axis of the earth though isnt it rather than the magnetic poles? Because of the shift of the axis due to the wobble. Vega was once, and will again be the pole star. Will make it blooming easier to find haha!

[stevepeverall]

The shift is known as axial precession or precession of the equinoxes and is due to the "wobble" of the Earth spinning on its axis. Think of the wobble a spinning gyroscope has and it will give you an idea of what is happening. The Earth's precession is in effect slowly tracing out a cone around which Polaris appears to move. As to how this affects observation the Earth goes through one such complete precessional cycle in a period of approximately 26,000 years or 1° every 72 years, during which the positions of stars will slowly change in both equatorial coordinates and ecliptic longitude. Over this cycle, Earth's north axial pole moves from where it is now, within 1° of Polaris, in a circle around the ecliptic pole, with an angular radius of about 23.5 degrees. Essentially it will have no great effect on your polar alignment or observation, but star atlases such as Nortons have to be updated every so often to take precession into account. Hope this helps.

You're absolutely right about precession Bob but I don't think that this is what has moved 161 miles this year as regarding the OP.

[bob1957]

Sorry, just realised you was asking about the shift of the magnetic north pole not precession. Geomagnetic reversal where the Earths magnetic field reverses has happened numerous tines over the Earths history due to magnetic instabilities in the dynamo action of the spinning molten core and occur approx every 450,000 years. Also brief disruptions occur lasting a few hundred years which affects the magnetic field strength without actually reversing polarity. It has no effect on polar alignment which as I've said previously is due to the alignment of the Earth's axis and the effects of precession.

[gazza63]

Thanks for all the replies.

It is the earth's axis change, I was more concerned about.

Just been having a look at this..... Interesting

http://youtu.be/3wrzj9EhrL8

[Pig]

When I hear the word scripture I switch off , also this vid was done in 2011. The sun is setting in the west in Northampton at the moment

If your lucky enough to see the Sun that is

[TwoPi]

But the earth's axis hasn't changed by 161 miles in 2013 and we've already discussed precession so not really sure what you're alarmed at...

[Matt Scunthorpe]

Its the magnetic poles that change. The only reason the earths axis changes is because of procession and that takes 26000 years to do one 'circle' as covered above.

[gazza63]

Thanks Matt