On Earth , we have an incredibly useful of navigating our way around : a magnetized phonograph needle ( suspend in a liquid state or inside a compass ) will align itself with our major planet ’s magnetized field , and repoint you towards the magnetic north pole .
References to magnetics , which occurs naturally inlodestone , go back to 600 BCE , when Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus noticed thatiron was attracted to the stone . References to magnetism also appear in a Chinese 4th century BCE bookBook of the Devil Valley Master , though it would take until the 12th one C CE before lodestone was used in the orbit to make a reach for navigation .
Compasses trust on our magnetosphere to work , and Mars no longer has a magnetosphere .
Compasses on Mars could help you locate magnetic rock.Image credit: NASA
" When you navigate with a compass you’re able to orientate yourself thanks to Earth ’s global charismatic playing area . But on Mars , if you were to walk around with a scope it would haphazardly aim from one unusual person to another , because the Red Planet does not possess a global magnetosphere , " NASAexplainedin 2013 , adding that as well as making compass ( virtually ) useless , it help make Mars hostile to life . " scientist think that this lack of a protective magnetic field may have allowed the solar twist to plunder off the Martian standard atmosphere over 1000000000000 of geezerhood . "
However , compasses would not simply do nothing . While Mars lacks a magnetosphere , it has crustal magnetized fields more than30 time strongerthan those found on Earth .
When Mars ’s crust cool down down to below the Curie temperature , it still had a magnetosphere . This dip in temperaturelocked magnetismwithin ferric materials in the satellite ’s cheekiness .
When the magnetized freshness is heat above the Curie temperature , such as when the planet is struck by place rock , it make the crust to become demagnetise again .
With no magnetosphere around anymore , this leaves pockets of firm magnetism across the planet which may appeal your reach , if you are close enough .
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