Spooky Forces

This is interesting and might be immensely important:

Researchers say Pioneer 10, which took the first close-up pictures of Jupiter before leaving our solar system in 1983, is being pulled back to the sun by an unknown force. The effect shows no sign of getting weaker as the spacecraft travels deeper into space, and scientists are considering the possibility that the probe has revealed a new force of nature.

Dr Philip Laing, a member of the research team tracking the craft, said: "We have examined every mechanism and theory we can think of and so far nothing works. 

"If the effect is real, it will have a big impact on cosmology and spacecraft navigation...." 

 Read it here.

Time and again we see that our understanding of the physical universe, while impressive, is far from complete, but then we have known that for a long, long time. As Hamlet put it:

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Now if only someone would tell Dr. Hawking....