Here's why:
* True North is the geographic North Pole, the fixed point on the Earth's axis.
* Magnetic North is the point where the Earth's magnetic field lines converge, which is not the same as True North.
* Magnetic Declination is the angle between True North and Magnetic North.
* Positive declination means Magnetic North is east of True North.
* Negative declination means Magnetic North is west of True North.
Therefore, a 45-degree declination indicates that the compass needle is pointing 45 degrees to the east relative to the actual direction of True North.
