The area around a magnet where its magnetic force can be detected is called the magnetic field. You can see how this works if you lay a piece of paper over a magnet and sprinkle iron filings on it. The filings immediately arrange themselves in curved lines. You can see how these lines of magnetic force align themselves between the two poles, or ends, of the magnet.
Is the Earth a magnet?
The Earth is actually a huge magnet, with a magnetic north and a magnetic south pole. These poles are not quite the same as the true geographical poles, and they wander about slightly. There is geological evidence that the magnetic north and south poles sometimes switch their positions completely. The reasons for the Earth’s magnetism are not really understood, but it is thought to be due to the movement of electrical charges around the Earth’s core, which is probably mostly made up of iron.
The Earth’s magnetic field extends out into space. The Sun and the other planets in the Solar System also have magnetic fields. Some distant stars are known to have exceptionally powerful magnetic fields.
Picture credit: google