Anomaly

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An anomaly is something which deviates from the standard or expected. It is an irregularity which may be difficult to explain using existing rules or theory.

Anomaly may also mean:

1 In science
2 In pseudoscience and mysticism
3 In arts and entertainment
4 See also

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In science

In astronomy (and also in astrodynamics), the anomaly is the angular distance of a planet from its periapsis:
- The true anomaly is observed from the primary (I.e., from the orbit's focus);
- The eccentric anomaly is observed from the centre of the ellipse, using a projection of the planet's position onto the circumscribing circle; and
- The mean anomaly is the fraction of an orbital period that has elapsed, expressed as an angle.
In an anomaly time series the times are not uniformly spaced.
In physics, an anomaly is a classical symmetry that is not a symmetry of the quantum theory. See anomaly (physics) and conformal anomaly, chiral anomaly, gravitational anomaly, gauge anomaly, mixed anomaly, global anomaly, parity anomaly.
In geodesy and geophysics, the gravity anomaly (e.g., Bouguer anomaly or free-air anomaly) measures variations in the Earth's gravitational field.
In spacecraft operations, an anomaly is an event that results in an unexpected and unwanted event that may cause a negative impact to the state of health of the spacecraft.