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Apparently we're due for a pole flip [0] pretty soon. If that happens, do we stick with putting North at the top and all maps look like this, or do we stick wi
by marcus_holmes 1y ago
Apparently we're due for a pole flip [0] pretty soon.
If that happens, do we stick with putting North at the top and all maps look like this, or do we stick with keeping the maps the same way up and putting South at the top?
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal
- nomel 1y agoI suspect we will continue to do what we currently do: differentiate between magnetic north and "true" north, by applying a local correction, as is already required for navigation with a compass.
- reverius42 1y agoA minor correction is quite different from literally flipping the poles.
- Attrecomet 1y agoAnd entirely unimportant for our maps' orientations. Why would we even flip maps? They aren't oriented along the magnetic poles right now!
- nomel 1y agoDepends on your definition of minor. As is, you cannot use magnetic north to navigate, alone, in the east and west of North America. It's 20 degrees off in Oregon, and nearly 40 in northern Alaska. This is something you quickly learn in boy scouts, by getting lost in the woods, if you live on the coast. But, considering it takes 1,000 to 10,000 years to flip, nobody involved in this will be surprised when they look at their compass. They'll have remembered their local correction from when they were children.
- marcus_holmes 1y agoThe Wiki article does mention that there are theories it could take way less than that, possible even a single lifetime.