Mysterious Force Affects Pioneer 10 & 11 Probes

JabbaTheFart writes "The Guardian is writing that something strange is tugging at America's oldest spacecraft. As the Pioneer 10 and 11 probes head towards distant stars, scientists have discovered that the craft - launched more than 30 years ago - appear to be in the grip of a mysterious force that is holding them back as they sweep out of the solar system. Some researchers say unseen 'dark matter' may permeate the universe and that this is affecting the Pioneers' passage. Others say flaws in our understanding of the laws of gravity best explain the crafts' wayward behaviour."

Comments

It's the Klingons!

[prgrmr]

The question is can we develop the technology to detect tractor beams all the way out there from here?

Re:It's the Klingons!

[Lt Cmdr Tuvok]

The logic on which you draw your assumption seems to be flawed.

Contact with the Klingon empire was first made in 2151. Therefore, it is only logical to assume that they were nowhere near human space in 2004. It is most likely that the phenomenon in question was an anomaly caused by temporal vortex flux.

Re:It's the Klingons!

[Punto]

Maybe they can reverse the polarity of the probes' guidance system.

Or...

[deadgoon42]

They could just be hitting up against that big crystal shell that all the stars are painted on.

Matrix

[Sir Homer]

When you think about it, we know so little about deep space. Perhaps the Matrix doesn't go out that far? Clipping problems?

Re:Matrix

[Anthem.uxp]

If they someday come back from the other side of space we can try and exploit an overflow.

*mumbles*

[KennethSundby]

Ah yes, the good old "If you don't know, blame it on Dark Matter" strikes again.

Re:for the love of god,

[Anonymous Coward]

I can forgive the mods not knowing the difference between affect and effect, but can we please all donate a penny to buy the editors an English textbook?

Re:explanation???

[Paradise Pete]

One thing that is rare for {scientists] to admit is not knowing why something happens.

Only if by "rare" you mean "all the time."

Conspiracy Theory

[isa-kuruption]

The Bush Administration is altering the laws of gravity in order to distract us from the situation in Iraq. A bill in Congress right now will nullify the law of gravity as we know it, taking away the rights of individuals to remain firmly planted on the Earth.

That's no Moon...

[Pii]

It's a SPACE STATION!!!

Funny coincident

[Dexter77]

After reading the article I had a flashback about old computer games, where "mysterious force" would tug you back when you reached the end of the area.

How funny it would be if our world ended after Pluto and the stars would only be 'a painted backcloth'. I wonder what kinda effect it would have on our society. Scientist would propably spend years trying to explaing the phenomena, until one day a human could travel to the edge and verify the obvious.

Or maybe the aliens that run our world on their supercomputer have not yet coded the rest of the universe. Let's wait for few more years and see if 'the mysterious force' has been removed :)

Re:Laws of Physics

[the chao goes mu]

Or 1.79999x10^12 furlongs per fortnight for those who prefer still other units.

Re:Mod parent up

[jcostantino]

Austria is that island where the toilets flush backwards, no?

No, Dude ... It's The COMET EMPIRE!!

[saudadelinux]

So, we have to raise the Yamato, outfit her with a Wave Motion Gun, and go out there and whup that ass!

Re:Laws of Physics

[BeeRockxs]

Personally, even with mechanical help, I find about 100 kph, 27.8 m/s, to be the upper limit of my everyday velocity.

Here in Germany, we have the Autobahn.

Re:Austria and Australia

[Glen Ponda]

Er, no, actually. What's your point?

My point was to use a stereotype to poke fun at a random stranger, thereby bolstering my own sense of self-worth by deflecting attention away from my own, numerous insecurities and enormous sense of inadequacy. This is quite common on slashdot; people usually get modded up for it. Hope you didn't take it personally...