360年來第一次，羅盤確實是正確的

360年來第一次，有些羅盤確實是正確的

If you try walking to the North Pole for some strange and ill-considered reason, you will be let down badly by your compass.

如果你因為某種奇怪的、考慮不周的原因試圖走到北極，你將會被你的指南針嚴重地辜負。

It's not as simple as following the "N" on the dial until you reach Santa's workshop.

在你到達圣誕老人的工作間之前，這并不像按下?lián)芴柋P上的“N”那么簡單。

The Earth is one big magnet - which is how little magnets, like those in a compass, dial into its poles. (Photo: ByGurzoglu/Shutterstock)

Following the arrow would, in fact, take you to Ellesmere Island — the most northerly settlement in Canada. At more than 500 miles from the North Pole, you would still have a ways to go.

事實上，順著箭頭走，你就會到達埃爾斯米爾島——加拿大最北的殖民地。在離北極500多英里的地方，你還有很長的路要走。

Just explain to the Uber driver that you were following magnetic north. You should have been locked into true north.

只要向優(yōu)步司機解釋一下，你在跟蹤磁極北。你應該被困在真正的北方。

Yes, there are two norths. As you might guess, magnetic north abides by the planet's natural, ever-shifting magnetism. True north on the other hand, as indicated on maps by lines of longitude, are determined by the planet's rotation on its access. A reliable navigator, true north is where all those longitudinal lines converge — dead in the center of the Arctic Sea.

是的，有兩個北方。正如你可能猜到的，地磁北極遵循著地球自然的、不斷變化的磁場。另一方面，如地圖上的經(jīng)度線所示，真北是由行星進入地球時的自轉決定的。一個可靠的航海家，真正的北方是所有這些縱線交匯的地方——死在北冰洋的中心。

The margin of error between the two norths is called declination. And for the last 360 years, there's always been a difference of varying sizes.

北方和北方之間的誤差幅度稱為赤緯。在過去的360年里，一直存在著大小不一的差異。

Until now.

直到現(xiàn)在。

Over the next couple of weeks, the compass needle will reach a perfect alignment with true north — as long as you're standing in Greenwich, London, where the Eastern and Western hemispheres meet.

在接下來的幾周里，只要你站在倫敦格林尼治，也就是東西半球交匯的地方，指南針的指針就會與真北完美地對齊。

The last time the line of zero declination, known as the agonic, met up with magnetic north was about 360 years ago.

上一次零偏斜線，也就是我們所知的agonic，與地磁北極相遇是在360年前。

Since then, as The Guardian notes, compass needles have pointed west of true north, toward the aforementioned Ellesmere Island. But in September, all compasses at The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, will point to true north.

從那時起，正如《衛(wèi)報》所指出的，羅盤指針指向了正北以西的埃爾斯米爾島。但在9月，格林威治皇家天文臺的所有羅盤都指向正北。

"At some point in September, the agonic will meet zero longitude at Greenwich," Ciaran Beggan, a scientist at the Lyell Centre in Edinburgh, tells the newspaper. "This marks the first time since the observatory's creation that the geographic and geomagnetic coordinate systems have coincided at this location."

愛丁堡萊爾中心的科學家Ciaran Beggan告訴《泰晤士報》:“在9月的某個時候，agonic將在格林尼治遇到零經(jīng)度。”“這標志著自天文臺成立以來，地理和地磁坐標系首次在這個位置重合。”

"The agonic will continue to pass across the UK over the next 15 to 20 years."

“未來15年至20年，亞貢尼克號將繼續(xù)在英國各地通行。”

The Royal Observatory Greenwich is home to Greenwich Mean time, as well as the Prime Meridian. (Photo: GMaple Design/Shutterstock)

Think of it as that solitary, triumphant moment when a broken clock gives you exactly the right time. We knew you could do it. After that, compasses will return to being wrong — this time pointing east of true north.

當一個壞掉的時鐘給你準確的時間時，把它想成一個孤獨的、勝利的時刻。我們就知道你能做到，在那之后，羅盤又會回到錯誤的方向——這次是指向正北偏東的方向。

This rare agreement between lines of longitude and compasses isn't expected to impact humans beyond the neat-o factor. The real problem lies in magnetic north's wandering ways.

經(jīng)度線和圓規(guī)之間罕見的一致性預計不會對人類造成超出neat-o因素的影響。真正的問題在于磁極的漂移。

Of course, it never stands still, but rather shifts constantly thanks to the roiling inferno of molten nickel and iron at the Earth's core.

當然，它從來不會靜止不動，而是由于地核中熔化的鎳和鐵的翻滾地獄而不斷地移動。

But in recent years, the magnetic north pole has been an especially unreliable guide. In fact scientists say it's moving at a faster rate than any time in human history — which could mark the beginning of a catastrophic pole reversal.

但近年來，地磁北極一直是一個特別不可靠的向導。事實上，科學家說，它的移動速度比人類歷史上任何時候都要快，這可能標志著災難性的極地逆轉的開始。

Fortunately for Earth-dwellers, that process would still likely take around 10,000 years. Still, the dramatic shift is already causing problems for the countless animals — from birds to bats to sea turtles — that rely on magnetic north for migration.

幸運的是，對于地球上的居民來說，這一過程可能還需要大約1萬年的時間。盡管如此，這一戲劇性的轉變已經(jīng)給無數(shù)動物帶來了問題，從鳥類到蝙蝠再到海龜，這些動物都依賴磁場北移。

And possibly the few adventurous humans who still navigate this world with nothing more than a compass.

或許還有少數(shù)敢于冒險的人類，他們仍然只用指南針在這個世界上航行。