Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1766902 | Advances in Space Research | 2009 | 7 Pages |
Abstract
This paper reports the results of an analysis of the Doppler tracking data of Pioneer probes which did show an anomalous behaviour. A software has been developed for the sake of performing a data analysis as independent as possible from that of Anderson et al. [Anderson, J., Laing, P.A., Lau, E.L., Liu, A.S., Nieto, M.M., Turyshev, S.G. Study of the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 and 11. Phys. Rev. D 65, 082004, 2002], using the same data set. A first output of this new analysis is a confirmation of the existence of a secular anomaly with an amplitude about 0.8 nm sâ2 compatible with that reported by Anderson et al. A second output is the study of periodic variations of the anomaly, which we characterize as functions of the azimuthal angle Ï defined by the directions Sun-Earth Antenna and Sun-Pioneer. An improved fit is obtained with periodic variations written as the sum of a secular acceleration and two sinusoids of the angles Ï and 2Ï. The tests which have been performed for assessing the robustness of these results are presented.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
A. Levy, B. Christophe, P. Bério, G. Métris, J.-M. Courty, S. Reynaud,