could be transferred to a spacecraft from the orbital-motion angularmomentum
of a planet about the Sun, despite the fact it had been known
since the works of Lagrange, Jacobi, and Tisserand on the three-body problem
[Moulton 1970,Danby 1988], that the energies of comets could be affected
by passing near Jupiter.
that belie our current understanding of the underlying physics. It is hoped
that further study, which we encourage, can reconcile this situation.
I think that you are still thinking mathematically. I'm saying that the exotic force on the plane of rotation from exotic comets *ISN'T* subject to the inverse square law as in ordinary matter. I'm saying that the Moon's extra force on this narrow plane is a band of influence, and shouldn't be considered from a point source. Therefore it doesn't matter whether the spacecraft is closer or further away in the conventional sense, it's the time that the spacecraft is within the band of influence as it crosses which is important.
The other point to note which the report states is that the exact time of velocity increases is unknown. It's just *approximately* near the time of closest approach. Also, when I'm taking about the high exotic matter content of the moon, I'm suggesting that it exerts a force on it's 'plane of rotation'. The moon no longer spins on it's own axis, so the exact angle of this plane may no longer be perfectly aligned with the moon's equatorial plane. It's an approximation which fits very well with the data. Remember that this a genuine mystery and one which shouldn't be swept under the carpet so easily. The exact position and aspect of the moon is needed for each flyby for the detailed analysis.
Juno is scheduled to resolve the situation. The voyage to Jupiter will take five years, which will include an Earth flyby in October 2013. The exotic matter hypothesis and the moon will be shown to be the primary influence imo. Let's wait and see. The Juno gravity assist from a flyby of Earth is set for Oct 9, 2013. The first quarter date is 11 October, so unfortunately this doesn't bode well for a big energy increase.
Edited by SunnyBlues, 19 September 2012 - 12:38 PM.