Earliest records show a spoon shaped compass made of lodestone or magnetite ore, referred to as a "South-pointer" dating back to sometime during the Han Dynasty (2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE).

The fact that the grains of ancient rocks are lined up like tiny compass needles has led to the astonishing conclusion that the earth's magnetic poles have wandered and reversed ...

Explorers have long trusted compasses to navigate Earth's land and oceans, using our planet's global magnetic field as their guide. But what happens when you take a compass beyond Earth - into ...