News ltd (who always bring us the best scare mongering), is carrying the story
http://www.news.com.au/technology/sc...2693e815c1d49d
about an increasingly concerning anomaly in the magnetic field which may indicate an approaching field polarity flip. Located beneath South Atlantic the core polarity has weakened and reversed (over the last 160 yrs) the extended magnetosphere substantially. Interesting article, worth a read.
Now what does this mean to my SCP alignment? Probably nothing if your on a pier in the observatory right now, as the CP should be unaffected by a flip. But it would bugger up declination figures, and potentially make all new compass based initial field or backyard alignments a mess, i would imagine. As it would take some time to reach a new equilibrium point the instability of the magnetic pole could last awhile. Should not affect plate solved alignments, but some of the apps require a mount to be within 2 degrees of the CP (like Sharpcap PA).
And then there are the potential health risks of being left exposed to radiation if you happen to find yourself under a weak spot. Raise the Shields!
So anyone care to suggest what other things a polarity reversal, or a wandering pole, could affect?