Pioneer anomaly

[stangin99]

Jim/Derek, any thoughts on this?

For those that don't know:

"The Pioneer anomaly or Pioneer effect is the observed deviation from predicted trajectories and velocities of various unmanned spacecraft visiting the outer solar system, most notably Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11.

Both Pioneer spacecraft are escaping from the solar system, and are slowing down under the influence of the Sun's gravity. Upon very close examination, however, they are slowing down slightly more than expected. The effect can be modeled as a slight additional acceleration towards the Sun.

The anomaly has no universally accepted explanation. The explanation may be mundane, such as measurement error, thrust from gas leakage or uneven radiation of heat. However, it is also possible that current physical theory does not correctly explain the behaviour of the craft relative to the sun."

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_anomaly]Pioneer anomaly - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[FoxFour]

I'm thinking radiant heat from the radioisotope generators or an unknown equation that does not exist in our current computer modeling because there is not enough data taken from that far a distance.

 

[astrodudepsu]

It sounds like all of those explanations added together to produce this effect.

No single one can cause it, but all of them together could.

I admit I do find it curious about the effect equaling c*H. But because we know little/nothing about Dark Matter and Dark Energy, I suspect there is something we are missing.

 

[James Snover]

Interesting, and to the other explanations I would add that maybe there is some difference in the local conditions outside the sun's influence. We know there is a solar wind, and it affects space craft. I am guessing there is a "galactic wind," outside the sun's immediate environment, and we are seeing it's effects for the first time since these are the first man-made objects to get out that far.

I can't wait to find out what the answer is!

Jim Snover