Berlin 2005 – scientific programme
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GR: Gravitation und Relativitätstheorie
GR 15: Experimentelle Tests
GR 15.3: Talk
Tuesday, March 8, 2005, 14:30–14:45, TU BH262
The Pioneer Anomaly - Evident Effect or just an Error? — •Hansjörg Dittus1, Claus Lämmerzahl1, Slava G. Turyshev2, John D. Anderson2, and Michael M. Nieto3 — 1ZARM, Universität Bremen — 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA, U.S.A. — 3LANL, Univ. of California, Los Alamos, NM, U.S.A.
Analysis of the radio-metric tracking data from the Pioneer 10/11 spacecraft (launched 1972/73) at distances between 20 and 70 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun has consistently indicated the presence of an anomalous, small, constant Doppler frequency drift. The drift can be interpreted as being due to a constant acceleration of ap = (8.74 ± 1.33) · 10−8 cm / s2 directed towards the Sun. After Jupiter and Saturn encounters, the two spacecraft followed escape hyperbolic orbits near the plane of the ecliptic to opposite sides of the solar system. Up to now, no satisfactory explanation of the anomalous acceleration has been found. The inability to explain the anomalous acceleration of the Pioneer spacecraft with standard physics has contributed to the growing discussion about its origin. Although the most obvious explanation would be that there is a systematic origin to the effect, perhaps generated by the spacecraft themselves from excessive heat or propulsion gas leaks, none has been found; that is, no unambiguous, onboard systematic has been discovered. In fact, attempts to find a convincing explanation using such a mechanism have not succeeded. We like to discuss the present situation and will report on latest results.