Another look at the Pioneer anomaly

Abstract

The often quoted equ. (15) in (Anderson_ea:2002) defines the observed Pioneer anomaly $a_P$ such that literal reading suggests $ν_{obs} < ν_{mod$ ($ν_{obs}$ the observed (Doppler) frequency, $ν_{mod}$ the one expected from a relativistic orbit model of the spacecraft). Contextualized reading shows, however, that (15) is meant the other way round, $ν_{obs} > ν_{mod}$. Version 1 to 4 of this paper built upon the first reading and led to a correction term for frequency shifts of wrong sign. Thus the proposal therein does not resolve the Pioneer anomaly, although it gives a correction term for frequencies which has the correct absolute value.