Pioneer anomaly possibly found manifest in Saturn orbit.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the analysis of Saturn's perihileon precession and its potential connection to the pioneer anomaly, as investigated by Elean Pitjeva and Lorenzo Iorio. The scope includes theoretical implications of general relativity, data interpretation, and the need for independent verification of findings.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Elean Pitjeva's analysis suggests a small correction to the predicted precession of Saturn's perihileon, quantified as -0.006 arcseconds per century.
  • Some participants question why this small divergence was not previously noticed and whether it is significant enough to warrant attention.
  • There is curiosity regarding the authorship of the analysis, specifically why Pitjeva's observations were interpreted and reported by Iorio.
  • Concerns are raised about the need for independent verification of the findings, with a call for further analysis of the data from other teams.
  • One participant notes that the effect observed contradicts expectations based on the pioneer anomaly, indicating a complex relationship between the two phenomena.
  • There is speculation that Pitjeva may not fully agree with Iorio's interpretation of her results, highlighting potential discrepancies in their analyses.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express uncertainty regarding the interpretation of the data and the implications of the findings. There is no consensus on the relationship between the observed precession and the pioneer anomaly, nor on the correctness of the interpretations presented by Pitjeva and Iorio.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the potential for differing interpretations of the same data set and the need for additional data points from the Cassini mission to strengthen the analysis.

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Now it’s Saturn’s turn to flummox astrophysicists. The Russian astronomer Elean Pitjeva, who heads the Laboratory of Ephemeris Astronomy at the Institute of Applied Astronomy in St Petersburg, has analysed a huge data set of planetary observations dating back to 1913, including 3D observations of the Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn.

She says that the precession of Saturn’s perihileon, as predicted by general relativity, needs to be corrected to fit the data. The correction is tiny: -0.006 arcseconds per century.

http://arxivblog.com/?p=702

http://arxiv.org/abs/0811.0756
 
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Why was this not noticed before? Because the divergence is so small?

Is there some particular reason that the observations were made by a E.V. Pitjeva but the Arxiv paper was written by Lorenzo Iorio?

When do you think we should we expect an independent analysis of this data to confirm Pitjeva and Iorio are looking at the numbers correctly?

Thanks.
 
The pioneer anomaly was just a publicity of mine. In fact, the effect works in the opposite way as it would expect from the pioneer anomaly. But it's strange nonetheless.
 
As stated by Iorio, caution is in order since the analysis should be repeated independently by other teams of astronomers and more Cassini data points should be, hopefully, added.
By the way, two years of Cassini data are not just some sparse data points.

Maybe Pitjeva does not agree with the interpretation by Iorio of her results. From the paper it seems clear that Iorio interpreted the data received by Pitjeva, but it is his own responsability: he did not write anything concerning a possible agreement by Pitjeva with him. or not. However, he correctly credited Pitjeva.
 

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