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Now NASA's thinking with portals (video) Jul 4th 2012, 04:56 Looks like playing games and watching sci-fi flicks didn't do the University of Iowa's Jack Scudder any harm. The NASA-funded researcher has been studying elusive magnetic portals connecting the Earth and Sun, and now he's figured out how to find them. The portals, also known as X-points in Scudder-speak, are born from the mingling of Earth's magnetic field with incoming solar winds. These astral connections create flux transfer events (we've got Doc Brown's attention) -- high-energy particle flows responsible for, among other things, the eerie twinkling of the polar auroras. Off the back of Scudder's data wizardry, NASA's planning the 2014 Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS), sending four craft into the void to observe the portals. Each spacebot is capable of locating them, and when one is found, inviting the others 'round for a study date. Taking a leaf from Scudder's book, Engadget researchers have tracked down a NASA video detailing the mission, located beyond the fold for your convenience. Continue reading Now NASA's thinking with portals (video) Now NASA's thinking with portals (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TG Daily  |  NASA Science  | Email this | Comments T-Mobile talking to Google about mobile payments in Europe as well, keeps playing the field Jul 4th 2012, 04:04 The good ship T-Mobile isn't staying anchored in any one port for mobile payments: just hours after the ink started drying on a deal with MasterCard for NFC, the carrier's parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Bloomberg that it's been talking with Google as well. While Deutsche Telekom's innovation lead Thomas Kiessling hasn't said more about a pact beyond its being "theoretically possible," it's not hard to do the math and picture Google Wallet coming into the equation if discussions go smoothly. Google won't go so far as to comment on its own -- not that the silence is stopping the would-be German partner, which is also chatting up banks and individual credit card firms to make sure everything falls into place. If it pans out, a Google alliance would certainly help T-Mobile fend off competition from Orange in Europe and give Google Wallet some much-needed support. T-Mobile talking to Google about mobile payments in Europe as well, keeps playing the field originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink   |  Bloomberg  | Email this | Comments

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