"The current behavior of magnetic north is something that we have never observed before." For decades, scientists have been tracking the shift in Earth's magnetic north pole away from Canada and toward Siberia — but recent measurements are unlike anything ever seen before.

Your navigation system just got a critical update, one that happens periodically because Earth’s magnetic north pole keeps moving. Here’s what to know.

Earth’s magnetic north is not static. Like an anchorless buoy pushed by ocean waves, the magnetic field is constantly on the move as liquid iron sloshes around in the planet’s outer core.