- Relativistic aberration
Relativistic aberration is described by Einstein's
special theory of relativity , and in other relativistic models such as Newtonianemission theory . It describesaberration of light due to objects moving at relativistic speeds] and is described by the following formula, which was derived by Einstein in 1905.:cos heta_o=frac{cos heta_s-frac{v}{c{1-frac{v}{c} cos heta_s} ,
where in the
reference frame of the observer, the source is moving away with velocity v, at an angle heta_o, relative to the direction from the observer to the source (at the time when the light is emitted)In these models, rays of light emitted by an object are seen by a bystander with a different state of motion to be tilted more towards the direction of the object's motion. This means that light emitted by a moving object appears to be compressed into a cone about its direction of motion, an effect called
relativistic beaming . Also, light received by a moving object (e.g. the view from a very fast spacecraft) also appears compressed into a cone about its direction of motion.One consequence of this is that a forward observer should normally be expected to intercept a greater proportion of the object's light than a rearward one, this concentration of light in the object's forward direction is referred to as the searchlight effect (or headlight effect).
ee also
*
Relativistic beaming
*Aberration redshift
*Doppler effect
*Relativistic Doppler effect
*Ives-Stilwell experiment
*Time dilation
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.