The magnetic north pole is moving towards Asia. The south magnetic pole is heading towards Australia. This is all part of a large-scale event - the reversal of the planet's poles.

The Earth's magnetic field protects life from harmful solar radiation by deflecting charged particles. It surrounds our planet like an invisible force field.

This field is constantly changing, as shown by numerous global magnetic reversals where the north and south magnetic poles switch places.

During the reversal, the magnetic field will not be zero, but will take on a weaker and more complex shape.

The power of this force shield protecting us from harmful cosmic radiation may drop to 10% of its current strength and the formation of magnetic poles at the equator or even the simultaneous existence of several north and south magnetic poles.

Geomagnetic reversals occur on average several times every million years. The interval between reversals is very uneven and can be up to tens of millions of years.

There may also be temporary and incomplete reversals, known as events and excursions, in which the magnetic poles move away from the geographic poles before returning back to their original locations.

The last complete revolution, Bruns-Matuyama, occurred about 780 thousand years ago. A temporal reversal, the Lachamp geomagnetic event, occurred about 41,000 years ago. It lasted less than 1000 years with the actual polarity reversal lasting about 250 years.

When the poles flip, the magnetic field weakens its protective effect, allowing increased levels radiation reaches the Earth's surface.

An increase in the number of charged particles reaching Earth will lead to increased risks for satellites, aviation and ground-based electrical infrastructure.

Geomagnetic storms give us a faint idea of ​​what we can expect with a weakened magnetic shield.

In 2003, the so-called Halloween storm caused localized blackouts in Sweden, required flight rerouting to avoid communications blackouts and radiation risks, and disrupted satellites and communications systems.

This storm was minor compared to other storms in the recent past, such as the superstorm "Carrington Event" in 1859, which caused auroras as far as the Caribbean Sea.

The impact of a major storm on modern electronic infrastructure is not fully known. Of course, any time spent without electricity, heating, air conditioning, GPS or internet will have serious consequences; widespread outages could result in economic losses measured in tens of billions of dollars per day.

In terms of life on Earth and the direct impact of the reversal on our species, we cannot definitely predict what will happen because modern people did not exist during the last complete reversal.

Several studies have attempted to link past reversals to mass extinctions—suggesting that some reversals and episodes of extended volcanism may be due to a common cause.

However, there is no evidence of any impending cataclysmic volcanism, and so we will likely have to contend with electromagnetic interference if the field reverses relatively soon.

We know that many animal species have some form of magnetoreception, which allows them to sense the Earth's magnetic field.

They may use it to aid in long-distance navigation during migration. But it is unclear what impact such treatment might have on such species.

What is clear is that early humans did manage to survive the Lashamp event, and life itself survived hundreds of complete reversals as evidenced by the geological record.

The Earth's magnetic field is generated in the liquid core of our planet by the slow churning of molten iron.

Like the atmosphere and oceans, the way it moves is governed by the laws of physics. Therefore, we should be able to predict “core weather” by tracking this movement, just as we can predict real weather by looking at the atmosphere and ocean.

A pole reversal can be compared to a certain type of storm in the core, where the dynamics - and magnetic field - go awry (at least for a short time) before calming down again.

When Will the Next Reversal Occur?

We are “late” for a complete reversal. The Earth's field is currently decreasing at a rate of 5% per century.

Thus, scientists have suggested that the field may change over the next 2000 years. But it will be difficult to establish an exact date.

The difficulties of predicting weather beyond a few days are widely known, despite the fact that we live inside and directly observe the atmosphere.

However, predicting the Earth's core is a much more difficult prospect, mainly because it is buried under 3,000 km of rock, so our observations are sparse and unclear.

However, we are not completely blind: we know the basic composition of the material inside the core and that it is liquid.

A global network of ground-based observatories and orbiting satellites also measures change magnetic field, which gives us an idea of ​​how the liquid core moves.

The recent discovery of the jet stream within the core highlights our evolving ingenuity and growing ability to measure and infer core dynamics.

Combined with numerical models and laboratory experiments to study fluid dynamics in the planet's interior, our understanding is advancing at a rapid pace.

The prospect of being able to predict the Earth's core may not be too far away.

We are entering another solar cycle, which astronomers expect will be very weak. But since we are in the middle of a pole shift, the defenses are weaker and even an average geomagnetic storm will have consequences.

Get ready!

The magnetic north pole is moving towards Asia. The south magnetic pole is heading towards Australia. This is all part of a large-scale event - the reversal of the planet's poles.

The Earth's magnetic field protects life from harmful solar radiation by deflecting charged particles. It surrounds our planet like an invisible force field.

This field is constantly changing, as shown by numerous global magnetic reversals where the north and south magnetic poles switch places.

During the reversal, the magnetic field will not be zero, but will take on a weaker and more complex shape.

The power of this force shield protecting us from harmful cosmic radiation may drop to 10% of its current strength and the formation of magnetic poles at the equator or even the simultaneous existence of several north and south magnetic poles.

Geomagnetic reversals occur on average several times every million years. The interval between reversals is very uneven and can be up to tens of millions of years.

There may also be temporary and incomplete reversals, known as events and excursions, in which the magnetic poles move away from the geographic poles before returning back to their original locations.

The last complete revolution, Bruns-Matuyama, occurred about 780 thousand years ago. A temporal reversal, the Lachamp geomagnetic event, occurred about 41,000 years ago. It lasted less than 1000 years with the actual polarity reversal lasting about 250 years.

When the poles flip, the magnetic field weakens its protective effect, allowing increased levels of radiation to reach the Earth's surface.

An increase in the number of charged particles reaching Earth will lead to increased risks for satellites, aviation and ground-based electrical infrastructure.

Geomagnetic storms give us a faint idea of ​​what we can expect with a weakened magnetic shield.

In 2003, the so-called Halloween storm caused localized blackouts in Sweden, required flight rerouting to avoid communications blackouts and radiation risks, and disrupted satellites and communications systems.

This storm was minor compared to other storms in the recent past, such as the superstorm "Carrington Event" in 1859, which caused auroras as far as the Caribbean Sea.

The impact of a major storm on modern electronic infrastructure is not fully known. Of course, any time spent without electricity, heating, air conditioning, GPS or internet will have serious consequences; widespread outages could result in economic losses measured in tens of billions of dollars per day.

In terms of life on Earth and the direct impact of the reversal on our species, we cannot definitely predict what will happen, since modern humans did not exist during the last complete reversal.

Several studies have attempted to link past reversals to mass extinctions—suggesting that some reversals and episodes of extended volcanism may be due to a common cause.

However, there is no evidence of any impending cataclysmic volcanism, and so we will likely have to contend with electromagnetic interference if the field reverses relatively soon.

We know that many animal species have some form of magnetoreception, which allows them to sense the Earth's magnetic field.

They may use it to aid in long-distance navigation during migration. But it is unclear what impact such treatment might have on such species.

What is clear is that early humans did manage to survive the Lashamp event, and life itself survived hundreds of complete reversals as evidenced by the geological record.

The Earth's magnetic field is generated in the liquid core of our planet by the slow churning of molten iron.

Like the atmosphere and oceans, the way it moves is governed by the laws of physics. Therefore, we should be able to predict “core weather” by tracking this movement, just as we can predict real weather by looking at the atmosphere and ocean.

A pole reversal can be compared to a certain type of storm in the core, where the dynamics - and magnetic field - go awry (at least for a short time) before calming down again.

When Will the Next Reversal Occur?

We are “late” for a complete reversal. The Earth's field is currently decreasing at a rate of 5% per century.

Thus, scientists have suggested that the field may change over the next 2000 years. But it will be difficult to establish an exact date.

The difficulties of predicting weather beyond a few days are widely known, despite the fact that we live inside and directly observe the atmosphere.

However, predicting the Earth's core is a much more difficult prospect, mainly because it is buried under 3,000 km of rock, so our observations are sparse and unclear.

However, we are not completely blind: we know the basic composition of the material inside the core and that it is liquid.

A global network of ground-based observatories and orbiting satellites also measures changes in the magnetic field, giving us insight into how the liquid core is moving.

The recent discovery of the jet stream within the core highlights our evolving ingenuity and growing ability to measure and infer core dynamics.

Combined with numerical models and laboratory experiments to study fluid dynamics in the planet's interior, our understanding is advancing at a rapid pace.

The prospect of being able to predict the Earth's core may not be too far away.

We are entering another solar cycle, which astronomers expect will be very weak. But since we are in the middle of a pole shift, the defenses are weaker and even an average geomagnetic storm will have consequences.

Get ready!

Published 05/30/17 11:22

A video appeared on the Internet that confused users. In footage taken from the ISS in outer space, you can see a man without a spacesuit. A mysterious head in a purple cap can be seen reflected on a glass element of part of the ISS.

Note that the footage of an incomprehensible phenomenon was obtained while working in space on one of the cameras of the Dexter manipulator, and the broadcast was carried out on the official NASA channel. The manipulator is intkbbee part of the Canadarm system, which moves along the outer surface of the station to assist astronauts.

Users immediately assumed that space program It is not filmed in space at all, but on soundstages. Some users noted in their comments to the video that they had previously seen the reflection of a person in the glass elements of the station.

YouTube VIDEO: the ISS camera captured a man in space without a spacesuit

“Guys, in almost every live stream from us, there’s the same bug! I watch them from time to time, and especially look into this glass. At least once, even briefly, this guy is scorching. Don’t be lazy, turn it on, look closely and 90% that there will be such a jamb . I have a feeling that this guy is a specialist there..." wrote user Pavel Martynovic in his comment on YouTube.

“This guy will get his hat)))),” Alexey sneers.

“So this is Superman,” Mark noted.

However, the majority of Internet users still did not believe in the mysterious “man in a blue cap” and suggested an amazing image in the manipulator’s lens as a play of light.

NASA representatives did not comment on the situation.