Magnetic Storm (1 of 22)

Magnetic Storm

What is weakening Earth’s invisible shield?
Magnets have the power to attract and repel—sometimes on a massive scale. The Earth’s molten core—a violent mix of searing heat, crushing pressure, and a billion trillion tons of liquid iron—creates an invisible shield that surrounds the globe, guarding against a constant barrage of deadly radiation from space. But over the last few decades, the Earth’s magnetic field has weakened dramatically, intriguing scientists across the globe.

The power generated 2000 miles beneath our feet protects us every day, but the loss of Earth’s magnetic field is a brewing storm that affects us all. While experts research and debate, persistent questions remain. Is a rare geomagnetic reversal the cause of earth’s inner turmoil? And if the magnetic field were to vanish altogether, would Earth become as lifeless as Mars?

Travel from Hawaii’s molten lava flows to the mountains of Oregon and into the far reaches of outer space for a charged look at Earth’s magnetic history and potentially deadly future.

There's a region of our planet that no human being has ever visited.
No one has ever seen this place, yet what happens here affects every one of us every day of our lives.
It's 2,000 miles beneath our feet, the Earth's molten core.
Here a vast ocean of liquid iron generates an invisible force, the Earth's magnetic field.
It's what makes our compasses point north.
But it does a lot more: it helps to keep the Earth a living planet.
Our neighbors, Venus and Mars, have only weak magnetic fields, which means they're unprotected from the deadly radiation sweeping through the solar system.