# Earth's magnetic field is changing. Normally this wouldn't be that worrisome, but this is 2020

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 21, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628 "2020-08-21T02:27:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628/1 "2020-08-21T02:27:42Z")

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A growing dent in Earth’s magnetic field could impact satellites and spacecraft:

> **[A growing dent in Earth's magnetic field could impact satellites and...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/world/nasa-earth-magnetic-field-dent-scn-trnd/index.html)**
>
> A growing dent in Earth's magnetic field, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, could pose a risk to spacecraft and satellites. NASA is monitoring the evolving weak spot in the magnetic field, but the space agency said it will not affect us here on...

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**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628/2 "2020-08-21T04:31:32Z")

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This was discovered in 1958. It doesn’t seem an imminent threat, but hey, it’s 2020.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628/3 "2020-08-21T20:59:34Z")

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Yeah. The news is that somebody just released a paper about it. Which shows some growth over a long term.

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628/4 "2020-08-21T21:11:43Z")

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This is how Trump’s handlers are controlling him.

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**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\
**Post date:** [August 21, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earths-magnetic-field-is-changing-normally-this-wouldnt-be-that-worrisome-but-this-is-2020/918628/5 "2020-08-21T21:59:57Z")

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And the Magnetic North Pole is moving, so some airports have to renumber their runways.

> **[Airports rename their runways due to changes in Earth’s magnetic field](https://www.internationalairportreview.com/news/79591/rename-runway-magnetic-field/)**
>
> Airports worldwide have to change the numbers, and therefore the names, of their runways as magnetic north moves about 60 kilometres a year.