Pioneer 10 and 11 trajectory elements ???

....Predictably, immediately after posting, I found the answer to my own
question. (The correct keywords appear to be the exact phrase "pioneer 10"
plus "ephemeris.")

I wound up at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/helios/heli.html, and my
only remaining uncertainty is, is the origin of "Solar Ecliptic Coordinate
System" essentially equivalent to that of the standard astronomical R.A./DEC
coordinate system ??? And if so, can anyone verify my tentative deduction
that Pioneer 10 and 11's current apparent positions in the sky are in the
general celestial vicinity of the constellations Orion and Hercules,
respectively ???


-- Gordon D. Pusch

perl -e '$_ = \n"; s/NO\.//; s/SPAM\.//; print;'

(Gordon D. Pusch) wrote


And if so, can anyone verify my tentative deduction
that Pioneer 10 and 11's current apparent positions in the sky are in the
general celestial vicinity of the constellations Orion and Hercules,
respectively ???

www.heavens-above.com has a "Spacecraft Escaping the Solar System"
page that currently (27 Oct 2003) says,

Pioneer 10 Pioneer 11 Voyager 2 Voyager 1
Distance from Sun (AU) 84.098 65.241 71.617 89.960
Speed relative to Sun (km/s) 12.221 11.665 15.659 17.193
Speed relative to Sun (AU/year) 2.578 2.461 3.303 3.627
Ecliptic Latitude 3.0° 14.7° -28.8° 34.7°
Declination (J2000) 25.80° -8.50° -50.81° 12.11°
Right Ascension (J2000) 5.031 hrs 18.539 hrs 19.611 hrs17.040 hrs
Constellation Tau Sct Tel Oph
Distance from Earth (AU) 83.375 65.662 71.873 90.599
One-way light time (hours) 11.56 9.10 9.96 12.56
Magnitude of Sun -17.1 -17.6 -17.4 -16.9
Spacecraft still functioning ? No No Yes Yes