Guess what? Earth's magnetic poles are due for a shift. To help explain what that actually means, I've tapped into the Smithsonian's information system and gathered the following for your education:
"Like a bar magnet, Earth has a magnetic field with two main poles. This magnetic field not only enables us to use compasses to find our way at the surface, it also tells us about Earth's deep interior. That’s because the field is generated by motions within the outer core.
Earth contains a dynamic electromagnet. Our planet's rotation causes molten iron-nickel in its outer core to circulate, creating electrical currents and a magnetic field."
Earth contains a dynamic electromagnet. Our planet's rotation causes molten iron-nickel in its outer core to circulate, creating electrical currents and a magnetic field."
"Are Earth’s Magnetic Poles Stable?
No. They wander over the Earth’s surface. Since 1945, they have moved at a rate of almost 12 km a year — a clue to the dynamic origin of our magnetic field. About every 500,000 years Earth's magnetic field gets progressively weaker, vanishes, then reappears with the magnetic North and South poles reversed. If you're standing at the North Pole, you're about 15 degrees (1,670 km, or 1,035 mi) away from its slowly migrating magnetic pole. "
No. They wander over the Earth’s surface. Since 1945, they have moved at a rate of almost 12 km a year — a clue to the dynamic origin of our magnetic field. About every 500,000 years Earth's magnetic field gets progressively weaker, vanishes, then reappears with the magnetic North and South poles reversed. If you're standing at the North Pole, you're about 15 degrees (1,670 km, or 1,035 mi) away from its slowly migrating magnetic pole. "
I just so happens that when the Solar System passes through the alignment plane with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (see the previous post), the magnetic poles will be at the greatest distance from the rotational poles, and because the Earth does not rotate on a vertical access in relation to its rotation around the Sun, the rotational poles will be at their greatest distance from the Sun's axis. Additionally, with December 21, 2012, being the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, at that particular day, the greatest gravitational, nuclear, and magnetic strain will be applied to the Earth's magnetic poles.
Should they undergo a sudden shift as the planet and solar system passes through the Galactic plane, the destructive effects would be enormous - possibly even resulting in tipping the Earth on its side, causing an unstable wobble, altering the seasons, causing extreme temperature changes, and weather conditions. Essentially making life as we currently know it impossible on the planet. Thus - the end of the world.