Earth's ancient magnetic field had more than two poles!

New Delhi: We all know that our Earth has two magnetic poles- North and South, and the magnetic field between these two poles protects us from harmful cosmic rays and high speed solar winds.

But a recent study reveals that this arrangement of magnetic fields was not always the same. Ancient earth had multiple poles that suddenly appeared across the globe causing planet's magnetic field behave erratically.

Researchers from Carnegie Institution of Science pointed out that between 500 million to 1 billion years ago something strange happened to the Earth's magnetosphere. They believed that inner core of the Earth was not always solid and at some point of the planet's history it began transforming from a molten state into a solid one. The gradual solidification process wrecked havoc on the magnetic field. This period of turmoil lasted until the inner core was completely solidified.

Researchers claim that these findings, published in Geographical research letters, could offer an explanation for the bizarre fluctuations in magnetic field direction seen in the geologic record around 600 to 700 million years ago.