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Magnetic North Pole
The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed to rotate in three dimensions, it will point straight down). There is only one location where this occurs, near (but distinct from) the geographic north pole. The Earth's Magnetic North Pole is actually considered the "south pole" in terms of a typical magnet, meaning that the north pole of a magnet would be attracted to the Earth's magnetic north pole. The north magnetic pole moves over time according to magnetic changes and flux lobe elongation in the Earth's outer core. In 2001, it was determined by the Geological Survey of Canada to lie west of Ellesmere Island in northern Canada at . It was situated at in 2005. In 2009, while still situated within the Canadian Arctic at , it was moving toward Russia at between per year. In 2013, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Magnetic Poles
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is etymology, related to the Old High German ''nord'', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European unit *''ner-'', meaning "left; below" as north is to left when facing the rising sun. Similarly, the other cardinal directions are also related to the sun's position. The Latin word ''borealis'' comes from the Ancient Greek, Greek ''boreas'' "north wind, north" which, according to Ovid, was personified as the wind-god Boreas (god), Boreas, the father of Calais and Zetes. ''Septentrionalis'' is from ''septentriones'', "the seven plow oxen", a name of ''Ursa Major''. The Greek ἀρκτικός (''arktikós'') is named for the same constellation, and is the source of the English word ''Arctic''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, cobalt, etc. and attracts or repels other magnets. A permanent magnet is an object made from a material that is magnetized and creates its own persistent magnetic field. An everyday example is a refrigerator magnet used to hold notes on a refrigerator door. Materials that can be magnetized, which are also the ones that are strongly attracted to a magnet, are called ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic). These include the elements iron, nickel and cobalt and their alloys, some alloys of rare-earth metals, and some naturally occurring minerals such as lodestone. Although ferromagnetic (and ferrimagnetic) materials are the only ones attracted to a magnet strongly enough to be commonly considered magnetic, all other substances respond weakly to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Of Wales Island (Nunavut)
Prince of Wales Island () is an Arctic island in Nunavut, Canada. This uninhabited island is one of the larger members of the Arctic Archipelago, it lies between Victoria Island and Somerset Island (Nunavut), Somerset Island and is south of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. For administrative purposes, it is divided between Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtaaluk and Kitikmeot Region, Kitikmeot regions. There are no permanent settlements on the island. Geography It is a low tundra-covered island with an irregular coastline deeply indented by Ommanney Bay in the west and Browne Bay in the east. Ommanney Bay is named after Erasmus Ommanney, Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommanney of the Royal Navy who explored the area as part of the search for Franklin's lost expedition. Its area has been estimated at . Prince of Wales Island is the list of islands by area, world's 40th largest island and the List of Canadian islands by area, 10th largest in Canada. Its highest known point—with an elevation of — ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory
The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill (Saanich), Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian Government, Canadian government. The Dominion architect responsible for the building was Edgar Lewis Horwood. The main instrument is the Plaskett telescope, proposed and designed by John S. Plaskett in 1910 with the support of the International Union for Cooperation in Solar Research. Following completion, Plaskett remained the head of the observatory until 1935. The observatory has been designated a national historic site of Canada, as it is a world-renowned facility where many discoveries about the nature of the Milky Way were made, and it was one of the world's main Astrophysics, astrophysical research centres until the 1960s. Centre of the Universe The Centre of the Universe is the public interpretive centre for the observatory, located across the parking lot from the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory telescop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roald Amundsen
Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen began his career as a polar explorer as first mate on Adrien de Gerlache's Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–1899. From 1903 to 1906, he led the first expedition to successfully traverse the Northwest Passage on the sloop ''Gjøa''. In 1909, Amundsen began planning for a Amundsen's South Pole expedition, South Pole expedition. He left Norway in June 1910 on the ship ''Fram (ship), Fram'' and reached Antarctica in January 1911. His party established a Framheim, camp at the Bay of Whales and a series of supply depots on the Barrier (now known as the Ross Ice Shelf) before setting out for the pole in October. The party of five, led by Amundsen, became the first to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911. Following a failed attemp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir John Ross
Sir John Ross (24 June 1777 – 30 August 1856) was a Scottish Royal Navy officer and polar explorer. He was the uncle of Sir James Clark Ross, who explored the Arctic with him, and later led expeditions to Antarctica. Biography Early life John Ross was born in Balsarroch, West Galloway, Scotland, on , the son of the Reverend Andrew Ross of Balsarroch, Minister of Inch in Wigtownshire, and Elizabeth Corsane, daughter of Robert Corsane, the Provost of Dumfries. His family home was on the shore of Loch Ryan, at Stranraer. Naval career In 1786, aged nine, Ross joined the Royal Navy as a first-class volunteer and was assigned to . It soon sailed to the Mediterranean Sea, where it remained until 1789. He then served aboard for several months before a transfer to the merchant marine for eight years. In September 1799 he was recalled to the Navy and appointed midshipman on HMS ''Weazel'', which shortly joined in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. Short peri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boothia Peninsula
Boothia Peninsula (; formerly ''Boothia Felix'', Inuktitut ''Kingngailap Nunanga'') is a large peninsula in Nunavut's northern Canadian Arctic, south of Somerset Island. The northern part, Murchison Promontory, is the northernmost point of mainland Canada. Geography Bellot Strait (Ikirahaq) separates the peninsula from Somerset Island to the north. Babbage Bay is on the east coast, as is Abernethy Bay, just to the south. The community of Taloyoak lies in the far south and is the peninsula's only significant population centre. Paisley Bay is on the west coast, as is Wrottesley Inlet (between Paisley Bay and Bellot Strait). Prior to the detachment of Nunavut in 1999, the Boothia Peninsula and the nearby Melville Peninsula were the only parts of mainland Canada that belonged to the District of Franklin in the then Northwest Territories. The balance of the District of Franklin was all situated within the Arctic Archipelago. Geology and paleontology On the peninsula there ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Clark Ross
Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John Ross, and in four led by Sir William Parry, William Edward Parry: in the Antarctic, he led Ross expedition, his own expedition from 1839 to 1843. Biography Early life Ross was born in London, the son of George Ross and nephew of Sir John Ross, John Ross, under whom he entered the Royal Navy on 5 April 1812. Ross was an active participant in the Napoleonic Wars, being present at an action where HMS Briseis (1808), HMS ''Briseis'', commanded by his uncle, captured ''Le Petit Poucet'' (a French privateer) on 9 October 1812. Ross then served successively with his uncle on HMS Acteon (1805), HMS ''Actaeon'' and HMS Driver (1840), HMS ''Driver''. Arctic exploration Ross participated in John's unsuccessful first Arctic voyage in search o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Gilbert (physician)
William Gilbert (; 24 May 1544? – 30 November 1603), also known as Gilberd, was an English physician, physicist and natural philosopher. He passionately rejected both the prevailing Aristotelian philosophy and the Scholastic method of university teaching. He is remembered today largely for his book '' De Magnete'' (1600). A unit of magnetomotive force, also known as magnetic potential, was named the '' Gilbert'' in his honour; it has now been superseded by the Ampere-turn. Life and work Gilbert was born in Colchester to Jerome Gilberd, a borough recorder. He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge. After gaining his MD from Cambridge in 1569, and a short spell as bursar of St John's College, he left to practice medicine in London, and he travelled on the continent. In 1573, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1600, he was elected President of the college.Mottelay, P. Fleury (1893). "Biographical memoir". In He was Elizabeth I's own ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pole Star
A pole star is a visible star that is approximately aligned with the axis of rotation of an astronomical body; that is, a star whose apparent position is close to one of the celestial poles. On Earth, a pole star would lie directly overhead when viewed from the North or the South Pole. Currently, Earth's pole stars are Polaris (Alpha Ursae Minoris), a bright magnitude 2 star aligned approximately with its northern axis that serves as a pre-eminent star in celestial navigation, and a much dimmer magnitude 5.5 star on its southern axis, Polaris Australis (Sigma Octantis). From around 1700 BC until just after 300 AD, Kochab (Beta Ursae Minoris) and Pherkad (Gamma Ursae Minoris) were twin northern pole stars, though neither was as close to the pole as Polaris is now. History In classical antiquity, Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) was closer to the celestial north pole than Alpha Ursae Minoris. While there was no naked-eye star close to the pole, the midpoint between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris (Latinisation of names, Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that fluctuates around 1.98, it is the brightest star in the constellation and is readily visible to the naked eye at night. The position of the star lies less than angular distance, 1° away from the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star. The stable position of the star in the northern celestial hemisphere, Northern Sky makes it useful for celestial navigation, navigation. As the closest Cepheid variable its distance is used as part of the cosmic distance ladder. The revised ''Hipparcos'' stellar parallax gives a distance to Polaris of about , while the successor mission Gaia (spacecraft), ''Gaia'' gives a distance of about . Although appearing to the naked eye as a single point of light, Polar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rupes Nigra
The Rupes Nigra ("Black Rock"), a phantom island, was believed to be a black rock located at the North Magnetic Pole or at the geographic North Pole itself. Described by Gerardus Mercator as 33 French miles in size, it provided a supposed explanation for why all compasses point to this location. The idea came from a lost work titled '' Inventio Fortunata'', and the island featured on maps from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including those of Mercator and his successors. Mercator described the island in a 1577 letter to John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...: References Phantom islands of the Arctic Ocean Islands of the Arctic Ocean North Pole {{geography-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
