Earth’s magnetic field is the vector field generated primarily by dynamo action in the liquid outer core, where convective motion of electrically conducting iron alloys induces and sustains a predominantly dipolar geomagnetic field. It extends from the core through the mantle and crust into space, forming the magnetosphere via interaction with the solar wind. The field is characterized by its intensity, inclination, and declination, and exhibits secular variation, westward drift, and polarity reversals on geological timescales. It governs charged particle dynamics in near-Earth space, shapes radiation belts, and constrains models of core dynamics and planetary evolution.
Earth's magnetic field is generated by the churn of its liquid nickel-iron outer core, but it is not a constant feature. Every so often, the magnetic north and south poles swap places in what are called geomagnetic reversals, ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 5, 2026
0
178
Exploring Earth's deep interior is a far bigger challenge than exploring the solar system. While we have traveled 25 billion km into space, the deepest we have ever gone below our feet is just over 12 km. Consequently, little ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 3, 2026
0
121
Meteorologists say a major disturbance in Earth's magnetic field Monday could mean the northern lights will be seen farther south than typical in the US, possibly even in Alabama or northern California.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 20, 2026
0
23
The European Space Agency's Swarm mission detected a large but temporary spike of high-energy protons at Earth's poles during a geomagnetic storm in November. It did this not with the scientific instruments for measuring ...
Astronomy
Dec 11, 2025
0
83
In 1882, the French Naturalist Camille Viguier was among the first to propose the existence of a magnetic sense. His speculation proved correct. Many animals—from bats, to migratory birds and sea turtles use the Earth's magnetic ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 21, 2025
0
131
Loggerhead turtles are able to sense Earth's magnetic field in two ways, but it wasn't clear which sense the animals use to detect the magnetic field when navigating using the magnetic map they are born with. Now researchers ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 20, 2025
2
111
Earth's Ediacaran Period, roughly 630 to 540 million years ago, has always been something of a magnetic minefield for scientists.
Earth Sciences
Oct 14, 2025
0
67
Using 11 years of magnetic field measurements from the European Space Agency's Swarm satellite constellation, scientists have discovered that the weak region in Earth's magnetic field over the South Atlantic—known as the ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 13, 2025
0
424
Magnetotelluric (MT) data, which contain measurements of electric and magnetic field variations at Earth's surface, provide insights into the electrical resistivity of Earth's crust and upper mantle. Changes in resistivity, ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 13, 2025
0
25
In recent years, NASA's Parker Solar Probe has given us a close-up look at the sun. Among the probe's revelations was the presence of numerous kinks, or "switchbacks," in magnetic field lines in the sun's outer atmosphere. ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 8, 2025
0
2117
