what is the difference between the magnetic north pole and the ‘geomagnetic’ north pole? Remember…I’m 5 here.

Question

I looked it up on Wikipedia; I’ve tried googling.

The explanations use big words and jargon I don’t understand.

In: 19

Answer 1

The earths magnetic field is shaped like a donut, and the magnetic poles are where an imaginary pencil stuck in the hole in the middle would point straight up. The geomagnetic pole is where it would be if it were a perfectly shaped donut. It’s not a perfect donut though, it’s a little bent and lumpy, so the actual magnetic pole is where the pencil sticks straight up in the real, slightly bent donut.