Aberration of light
In this connection let us consider the phenomenon of the
aberration of light. Astronomical aberration, or the deflection of
light, consists in the fact that stars describe ellipses in the sky
in the course of a year. Their origin is easy to erplain: the
velocity of the earth, in annurd motion, combines differently with
the velocity of the light emitted by the star.
Image
If the velocity vector of the starlight relative to the sun
is ES then the resultant direction of the velocity, ar one
position of the earth, is ttr and, in half a year's time, its.
These directions are proyecfed on different points of the
celestial sphere so that in a course of a year a star
describes a closed ellipse.
see also
b7 Fizeau's experiment
b7 the formula for addition of velocities
b7 space and time intervals.
