Scientists says there are signs that Earth's magnetic poles could be about to flip for the first time in 786,000 years. They also have estimated the magnetic field that protests the Earth and is key to life has weakened by about 15% in the past 200 years, being the first sign of the flip. According to the Historical Scientific Record, Earth's magnetic poles have flipped every 200,000 to 300,000 years; making the First Sign in 786,000 years a little overdue. Satellite data from the European Space Agency shows the magnetic field is weakening due to "restless activity" in the Earth's core. If the poles flip, compasses will point south. Power grids might fail, the climate might change, radiation might be higher, and the solar winds might punch holes in the ozone layer if the flip occurred.
Daniel Baker, director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, said this flip could render parts of the world "uninhabitable.'' The author, Alanna Mitchell, an award-winning science journalist, wrote: ''The dangers: devastating streams of particles from the sun, galactic cosmic rays, and enhanced ultraviolet B rays from a radiation-damaged ozone layer, to name just a few of the invisible forces that could harm or kill living creatures.''