Anomaly - Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics

Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics

  • In astronomy, an anomaly is a quantity measured with respect to an apsis, usually the periapsis
  • Eccentric anomaly, an intermediate value used to compute the position of a celestial object as a function of time
  • Flyby anomaly, an unexpected energy increase during the flybys of the Earth by various satellites
  • Mean anomaly, a measure of time in the study of orbital dynamics
  • Pioneer anomaly, the observed deviation of the trajectories of some unmanned space probes, and especially Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11
  • South Atlantic Anomaly, the region in outer space where the Earth's inner van Allen radiation belt makes its closest approach to the surface of this planet
  • True anomaly, the angle between the direction of periapsis and the current position of an object on its orbit
  • Anomalous precession, another term for "apsidal precession"

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