Talk:Pioneer anomaly/Archive for 2005

no effect measured on Voyagers
"the effect is harder to accurately measure with three-axis stabilised craft such as the Voyagers." Is this really a problem with making a measurement from Voyager, or does it suggest that the anamaly is because of the construction of the spacecraft rather than an unknown force? Bubba73
 * It makes it much more complicated to calculate where the spacecraft should be. Since it is stabilised along three axes it's essentially spinning all over itself through space. If astronomers wanted Voyager to take a picture of a planet, they have to use a thruster to position it correctly. Since one doesn't know exactly where in a spin the Voyager craft is when it uses the thruster, one doesn't know exactly in what directly it will respond. One might have a good idea, but it will increase the uncertainty of Voyager's theoretical position. This uncertainty is so high that the acceleration from the Pioneer probes would easily be masked. Splat 06:26, 11 July 2005 (UTC)
 * OK, thank you! Bubba73 15:01, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

unfortunately...
this article has just been featured on /., so prepare for vandals & trolls invasion... --Vla d 16:22, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

2003 EL61
The newly discovered Kuiper Belt planet 2003 EL61 has been listed as a possible cause of the Pioneer Anomaly. However, since 2003 EL61 is only a single object and can effectively be treated as a point in celestial mechanics it could only decelerate one probe. Because both probes are decelerating at approximately the same rate and are travelling in perpendicular directions, a single point such as 2003 EL61 can be ruled out as a possible source. Additionally, as 2003 EL61 is a Kuiper Belt object, it would be included under "Unknown gravitational forces from the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud." Splat 06:01, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

Another Possibilty

Has anyone considered the acelleration of the universe?


 * It is possible and has been considered. One of the remarkable properties of the acceleration is that its magnitude is very close to cH (the speed of light times Hubble's Constant). However, while it has been noted as a possibility, no sound mechanism for the acceleration of the universe resulting in a deceleration of the probe has been proposed. Splat 22:27, 6 October 2005 (UTC)

Dedicated Mission to Study the Pioneer Effect
Please, somebody, add a reference to this: (http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0506139)

John Baez 03:16, 1 July 2005 (UTC)