Changes

[[File:Dn11304-1 600.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Trajectories of the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft.  (The Pioneer anomaly is much too small to be noticeable at this scale.)]]

[[File:Dn11304-1 600.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Trajectories of the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft.  (The Pioneer anomaly is much too small to be noticeable at this scale.)]]

The '''Pioneer anomaly''' refers to deviations in projected courses for several spacecraft sent to the outer solar system.  The effect is believed to have influenced the courses of both Pioneer spacecraft, Galileo, and Ulysses.  The courses for the Voyager spacecraft and Cassini were not able to be predicted accurately due to known but unpredictable effects on these craft, and if the anomaly affects these spacecraft, it would not be distinguishable from other effects.

The '''Pioneer anomaly''' refers to deviations in projected courses for several spacecraft sent to the outer solar system.  The data sent back from both Pioneer spacecraft, Galileo, and Ulysses, represent one of the first meaningful tests of the precision of gravitation predictions over long distances.  The data contradict the [[The theory of relativity]], and specifically [[general relativity]], as well as [[Law of Universal Gravitation|Newtonian mechanics]], indicating that both theories may be fundamentally flawed.

 

Since these spacecraft have diverged from the courses predicted by [[general relativity]] and by [[Law of Universal Gravitation|Newtonian mechanics]], this may be evidence that both these theories are incorrect.

==Discovery==

==Discovery==