Dark Matter?

Question

About 9 months ago i read an article in either TIME or Scientific American about a satellite that was launched about 15years ago to observe mars... NASA discontinued it and they check the speed and location yearly on this satellite just out of curiosity... Last year (2005) they noticed that the speed which remained constant for more than 10years is now slowing down... How is this possible it since objects "free-fall" in space?.. Is it the Dark Matter applying friction and causing it to gradually slowdown.. Is it reaching the end of the universe?? Whats goin ON???

Answer 1

The satelite was not one but two.

"The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. In the 25th year after their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the Sun than Pluto is and approaching the boundary region -- the heliopause -- where the Sun's dominance of the environment ends and interstellar space begins. Voyager 1, more than twice as distant as Pluto, is farther from Earth than any other human-made object and speeding outward at more than 17 kilometers per second (38,000 miles per hour). Both spacecraft are still sending scientific information about their surroundings through the Deep Space Network (DSN). "

It has nothing to do with them dark matter...the speed is relevantly low and they are not in "free fall".
There is no friction at all due to "The areas between strands of galaxies are completely empty. You would have to travel Hundreds of miles to find just one atom. "( http://www.kidsastronomy.com/universe.htm )

But you can get more info from the official website of nasa.
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/mission.html

Answer 2

It does not ahve to be 'dark matter' slowing the thing down. There is matter in space, about one atom per every 2 liter bottle of space. The satelite woudl be NOWHERE Close to the end of the universe, it that even exists. It wouldnt even be anywhere near the end of our galaxy. The most likely explanation is that it is passing by larger objects whose gravity could be slowing it down, or perhaps the friction of the one to two atoms per foot is getting to it. With such air resistance, and such great time, little forces like that add up.

Answer 3

matter is what makes you me and virtually each little thing else which may be seen touched or smelled darkish matter is only the call they offer to something that they do no longer understand what it really is, so as that they call it darkish matter because it doesnt artwork at the same time with regualr matter in any respect, the in uncomplicated phrases way all of us understand of it really is because of its gravitational consequences. type of like how all of us learn about black holes even besides the undeniable fact that we cant see them yet we bump into them because of their gravity. Antimatter is largely an same as matter, only the charges are reversed so if matter and anti-matter come into contact they spoil one yet another, and anti matter isn't imaginary, it really is been created in the laboratory so it really is amazingly genuine.

Answer 4

yea, it's reaching the end of the universe, dumbass. there's no such thing.. helllo. ya know, God sometimes likes to just mess with scientists, defy the laws of physics every now and then. not maliciously, just to let us know he's still hangin around.

OF COURSE it's dark matter. i watched this show where a guy got his head stuck inside an alligator's mouth one time.

it could be just anti-matter. lost energy from light maybe. and why'd you put last year (2005) in parentheses? thanks for the update, i forgot what year it was.

Answer 5

You might be talking about the pioneer anomaly, the answer is that the scientists don't know.

Answer 6

space is not empty, it has minute particles. it probably hit a cloud of something

or the instruments are wearing out

Answer 7

is it possible that it is passing near something and that gravity is affecting it in some way?

Answer 8

what?