The Flyby Anomaly

Galileo flying by Earth Galileo, launched in 1989, flew by Earth twice for gravity assists on its 6-year journey to Jupiter. Credit: Michael Carroll


Researchers Investigate New Cosmic Mystery: The Flyby Anomaly by By Amir Alexander

A new study by researchers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows that spacecrafts that swing by the Earth are subject to a small but unexplained increase in their velocity. Is an unknown physical force at work, or something far more mundane? As of now, scientists don't know, but they have already given this mysterious phenomenon a name: "the flyby anomaly."