Ok, so it's not an actual dragon like Smaug from The Hobbit or Mushu from Mulan - it's way more scary and impressive. Scientists have identified a 'jet stream' of liquid iron that they are likening to a serpent underneath our very feet.
Not like this: Credit New Line Cinema
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IFLS stated it was found by Europe's Swarm satellites which are mapping Earth's metallic field and trying to find out why the magnetic field has been weakening over the last few centuries - this metal dragon is the reason for the magnetism in the northern hemisphere. The dragon is 'surging' between Alaska and Siberia.
How terrifying is that?
It's moving at about 50km a year - which, alright, sounds pretty slow, but considering its dense liquid metal, that's a lot. It's the fastest movement of anything within the solid earth.
We all know about the jet stream in the atmosphere which planes joyride on to get to their destination quicker - and this is the same. Only made of metal and 3,000km below the surface of the Earth.
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It's apparently 420km wide and wraps around half the planet!
It's increased in length by about 40km a year and no one knows why. It's so powerful that it's changing how the solid inner core is rotating. Scientists are worried that the jet stream could penetrate the core - and who knows what that would do?
Without earth's inner core rotating, life would cease to exist. Remember 2003s science fiction disaster film The Core, featuring Aaron Eckhart's cheekbones and Hilary Swank's frown? Nope? Never mind. That was about what would happen if the core stopped rotating because of unstable magnetic fields. The fearsome duo have to start a series of nuclear explosions in the core to get it started again.
Scientists believe because of this "dragon" we might have a "polarity reversal" soon - which would mean north becomes south and south becomes north.
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What would that mean for us? I assume it means we have summer at the end of the year and that the toilets flush the wrong way round like in Australia - and that's okay by me!
Words Laura Hamilton
Main image credit: PA
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