A ship’s steel hull becomes part of Earth’s magnetic field, which can quietly skew a magnetic compass in different directions as the vessel turns and heels. This explains how binnacle correctors work, ...

The magnetic compass is the last unknown sense in migrating animals. For some scientists, the monarch butterfly is leading the way. The magnetic compass is the last unknown sense in migrating animals.

You may have seen headlines or social media posts talking about a weakening of Earth’s magnetic field, specifically over the South Atlantic. It sounds dramatic, and a little scary. Is Earth losing its ...

Charnia masoni, a frond-like organism measuring up to a meter long, lived in the deep sea during the Ediacaran period. Credit: Smith609/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5 Time travelers to the Ediacaran can ...

The Earth’s magnetic field plays a big role in protecting people from hazardous radiation and geomagnetic activity that could affect satellite communication and the operation of power grids. And it ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. Nov 28, 2025, 07:59am EST Map of the strength of the Earth's ...

Homing pigeons can fly hundreds of miles and still land on the same rooftop. Scientists have long suspected that these birds carry an invisible compass, yet the physical sensor behind it has stayed ...

Researchers Offer the Clearest Demonstration Yet of the Mechanism for Magnetoreception, Suggesting Birds Detect Earth’s Magnetic Field Through Electrical Currents in Their Vestibular System. The study ...

For more than a century, scientists have wondered how pigeons and other birds navigate across vast distances without getting lost. One promising answer may lie deep inside their inner ears. It’s been ...

Pigeons can sense Earth’s magnetic field by detecting tiny electric currents in their inner ears, a team of researchers suggests. Such an inner compass could help to explain how certain animals can ...