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Is Earth's Magnetic Field Reversing? episode artwork

Nov 6, 2026 17 min

Is Earth's Magnetic Field Reversing?

from PBS Space Time Hosted by PBS

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateSPACE↓ More info below ↓Uploaded 03-09-19Please Take the PBS Digital Studios Annual Survey Here: https://www.pbsresearch.org/c/r/ST_YTvideoIt's very helpful and you could win a free T-Shirt! Support Space Time on Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/pbsspacetimeCheck out the new Space Time Merch Store!https://pbsspacetime.com/Earth’s magnetic field protects us from deadly space radiation. What if it were drastically weakened, as a precursor to flipping upside down? I mean, it has before … many, many times.. Hosted by Matt O'DowdWritten by Matt O'DowdGraphics by Leonardo ScholzerDirected by: Andrew KornhaberProduced By: Kornhaber BrownSpecial Thanks to Lathrop Lab at University of Maryland: https://complex.umd.edu/Check Out Lathrop Lab's YouTube Channel to learn more about their 3-meter experiment that models the Earth's core:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nUrQmFR3pFgEVwW0qAURA Spaceship Earth has a literal deflector shield. A geomagnetic field. Lines of magnetic force, forged by currents in the planet’s molten core, erupt from the surface close to the north south geographic poles, connecting to each other to wreath the planet in a dipole field, like a gigantic bar magnet. Magnetic fields exert a force on moving charged particles, causing them to spiral around those force lines. That’s helpful, because Earth is constantly bombarded by very fast moving charged particles, especially coming from the Sun. Our magnetic field deflects the worst of these. Not all planets are so lucky. Mars, with its solid core, has no such shield – and so the red planet’s atmosphere was stripped away by the solar wind billions of years ago.Want Even More Great Space Content? Check out the Exciting Summer of Space Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoFRvPlmME6FOQtdDKyOUzKJiTE6KXsK3Big Bang Supporters:Alexander TamasAnton LifshitsDavid NicklasFabrice EapJuan BenetMorgan HoughQuasar Supporters:Mark HeisingMark RosenthalVinnie FalcoHypernova Supporters:Chuck ZegarDanton SpiveyDonal BotkinEdmund FokschanerHank SJohn HofmannJohn R.

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Is Earth's Magnetic Field Reversing?

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