Now, a freely suspended compass needle carried to all parts of the earth will behave very much in the same manner as the needle moved over the magnetized steel sphere. There are two points on the earth's surface, known as the North and South Magnetic Poles, where the needle points vertically downward and approximately midway between is the _Magnetic Equator_ where the compass needle places itself in a perfectly horizontal position and the "dip" of the needle is zero. In other words, the earth acts as a huge magnet and possesses a magnetic field with lines of force converging towards its poles similar to the lines of force of the steel sphere.