Geomagnetic pole

A geomagnetic pole is where the axis of Earth’s best-fitting centered magnetic dipole intersects the surface. The two poles are approximately antipodal and differ from the poles of Earth’s full magnetic field.

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Earth's magnetic field: The magnetic field surrounding Earth, generated mainly by motion in its liquid outer core. The geomagnetic poles are a simplified description of this global field.
Magnetic north pole: The moving location in the Northern Hemisphere where Earth's magnetic field is vertically downward. It is defined by the full field, not by a best-fitting centered dipole.
International Geomagnetic Reference Field: A standard mathematical model of Earth's main magnetic field and its secular variation. Its dipole terms provide a basis for calculating geomagnetic-pole positions.
Geomagnetic coordinate system: A coordinate framework that locates positions relative to Earth's magnetic field geometry. The geomagnetic poles anchor coordinates used to organize high-latitude phenomena.
Magnetic dipole: A magnetic field pattern with two opposite poles, represented by a magnetic moment. A centered dipole is the idealized source used to define geomagnetic poles.
North geomagnetic pole: The northern intersection of Earth's centered-dipole axis with the surface. It is one of the two locations that make up this paired concept.
Gauss coefficients: Coefficients that parameterize Earth's magnetic field in a spherical-harmonic model. The degree-one coefficients specify the centered dipole's strength and orientation.
Aurora: Light emitted when charged particles excite gases in a planet's upper atmosphere. Auroral locations are often described using geomagnetic latitude.
Dipole axis: The line through the center of a dipole that points along its magnetic moment. Its intersection with Earth's surface locates the geomagnetic poles.
Geographic pole: Either endpoint of Earth's rotation axis at the planet's surface. The rotation axis and centered-dipole axis are tilted relative to each other.