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arXiv · 1602.03669

On a correlation among azimuthal velocities and the flyby anomaly sign

L. Acedo·Ll. Bel
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Abstract

Data of six flybys, those of Galileo I, Galileo II, NEAR, Cassini, Rosetta and Messenger were reported by Anderson et al \citep{Anderson}. Four of them: Galileo I, NEAR, Rosetta and Messenger gain Newtonian energy during the flyby transfer, while Galileo II and Cassini lose energy. This is, in both cases, a surprising anomaly since Newtonian forces derive from a potential and they are, therefore, conservative. We show here that the gravitational field of a rotating planet as derived from a new model introduces a non conservative force that gives a partial, but in our opinion satisfactory, explanation of these anomalies and suggests a correlation between the sign of the anomaly and the sign of the azimuthal velocity at perigee.

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L. Acedo, Ll. Bel. 2016-02-11. On a correlation among azimuthal velocities and the flyby anomaly sign. https://doi.org/10.1002/asna.201613151

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