An Aether Perspective on Stellar Aberration

Written by Dr. Raymond H.V. Gallucci, P.E. (ret.) on January 2, 2020. Posted in Current News

Abstract.  It has been known for nearly three centuries that, to view a clear image of a star through a telescope, it is necessary to tilt the telescope slightly forward in the direction of the earth’s motion, a phenomenon known as “stellar aberration.” 

Normally explained by mainstream physics without the presence of an aether medium for light transport and with relativistic corrections due to time dilation/length contraction via Lorentz transforms, this article examines stellar aberration from the perspective of an aether presence, including both a stationary and fully entrained aether, as well as the intermediate case of a partially entrained (“dragged”) aether. Comparison is made with the parallel cases without an aether, with the option to allow light to acquire its source velocity.

Key Words:  Stellar aberration, (James) Bradley, telescope, aether, light

1. INTRODUCTION

“In 1725 James Bradley … began observations … [u]sing a telescope attached to a chimney so that it pointed nearly vertically[.  H]e changed the position of the telescope very slightly, and very accurately measured its change in position using a screw and plumb-line; and over the course of a year or so found that the star did indeed vary in position … [T]he apparent positions … shifted in the direction of the Earth’s motion, … the same for every star in a given region, regardless of its distance.” [1]  While this “stellar aberration” is explained by mainstream physics relativistically via time dilation/length contraction using Lorentz transforms, alternate theories have been proposed (e.g., [2 and 3]).  This article examines stellar aberration in the presence of an aether – stationary, fully entrained and partially entrained (“dragged”) – to show that the tilting of the telescope in the direction of earth’s motion is consistent with either a stationary or partially entrained (“dragged” aether).  For comparison, it then examines the parallel cases without an aether, with the option to allow light to acquire its source velocity.

2. CASE 1: STATIONARY STAR PULSES ONCE, SENDING OUT LIGHT WAVE AT SPEED C THROUGH STATIONARY AETHER

Consider Figure 1, where a stationary star pulses once, sending out a spherical (displayed as circular in two dimensions) light wave at speed c through a stationary aether.  Relative to the star (and stationary aether), a telescope is moving at constant speed v as shown such that the light pulse through the aether reaches the top of the telescope when it is in the second position, as shown on the left portion of the figure.  During the time it takes for that pulse to travel the length of the telescope to reach the bottom (eyesight), the telescope continues to move with speed v to the third position on the left.  As shown, the telescope when vertical no longer aligns with the star.  Now consider the right portion of the figure, where the telescope has been tilted forward in the direction of motion.  Again, the light pulse reaches the top of the telescope when it is in the second position, now slightly to the right of previous (i.e., in the left portion of the figure).  During the time it takes for that pulse to reach the bottom (eyesight), the telescope continues to move left with speed v to the third position.  However, now it is aligned with the star.  That is, by tilting the telescope forward to compensate for its motion relative to the star and stationary aether, the star’s image can be clearly seen.

The record holder is …  the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper belt.  Launched by NASA in 2006, it shot directly to a solar system escape velocity.  This consisted of an Earth-relative launch of 16.26 kilometers a second (that’s about 36,000 miles per hour), plus a velocity component from Earth’s orbital motion (which is 30 km/s tangential to the orbital path).  Altogether this set New Horizons barreling off into the solar system with an impressive heliocentric speed of almost 45 km/s or 100,000 miles per hour.” [9]

Unlike Case 1, the telescope now moves with a fully entrained aether shown as a green sphere (circle).  When the pulse from the star reaches the top of the telescope (second position), it pulses the telescope’s aether (shown as a smaller, hollow star), initiating another spherical (circular) light wave at speed c (dashed sphere [circle]) that travels down the telescope to reach the eyesight at the bottom (a smaller, hollow star again), such that the star’s image is seen without tilting the telescope (third position on the left).

4. CASE 3. STATIONARY STAR PULSES ONCE, SENDING OUT LIGHT WAVE AT SPEED C THROUGH PARTIALLY ENTRAINED (“DRAGGED”) AETHER

Intermediate between Cases 1 and 2, the telescope now moves with a partially entrained (“dragged”) aether moving at speed u < v, shown as green arrows in Figure 4.  When the pulse from the star reaches the top of the “dragged” aether (first position), it pulses that aether (shown as a smaller, solid hollow star), initiating another spherical (circular) light wave at speed c.  This (dotted sphere [circle]) propagates until reaching the top of the telescope (smaller, dotted hollow star) as the telescope has proceeded to the left at speed v, partially “catching up” to the aether pulse also proceeding to the left, but at speed u < v (second position).  Finally, the pulse reaches the eyesight at the bottom (smaller, dashed hollow star), such that the star’s image is seen after tilting the telescope forward, but to a lesser degree than for the stationary aether (third position on the left), as follows.  For example,

two at the extremes.  If the aether is stationary (u = 0) as in the Case 1, the telescope must be tilted forward at 0.00300 rad (0.172 deg); for the fully entrained aether (u = v) as in Case 2, no tilt of the telescope is needed.

 5. CASE 4. MOVING STAR PULSES ONCE, SENDING OUT LIGHT WAVE AT SPEED C WITHOUT ACQUIRING SOURCE VELOCITY

This case, shown in Figure 5, parallels Case 1, except that now the star is moving to the right with velocity u and there is no aether.  Comparison with Figure 1 from Case 1 indicates parallel results, i.e., to observe the star clearly, the telescope must be tilted forward in its direction of motion by 0.00300 rad, or 0.172 deg, as in Figure 2.  Based solely on observation, the parallel results for Cases 1 and 4 would not permit one to distinguish between them as to an aether’s presence.

Still, it is necessary to tilt the telescope at essentially the same angle (0.00300 rad = 0.172 deg) as in Cases 1, 4 and 5 to observe the star clearly.

1. CONCLUSION

Bradley showed that it was necessary to tilt the telescope forward in its direction of motion relative to the essentially stationary star to obtain a clear image.  As an alternative to the mainstream explanation of this “stellar aberration” using relativistic time dilation/length contraction via Lorentz transforms, this article examines the phenomenon as if an aether medium for light transport were present – including the extreme cases of a stationary vs. fully entrained aether, and the intermediate case for a partially entrained (“dragged”) aether.  Results indicate consistency with either a stationary or partially entrained (“dragged”) aether, depending upon the degree of tilting that would be necessary.  However, note the following.  So long as the telescope must be tilted forward to cleanly observe the star, it will be difficult to distinguish between light carried by a stationary or partially entrained (“dragged”) aether vs. light that travels without an aether, regardless of whether it acquires its source velocity (so long as that velocity is << c).

9. REFERENCES

1. “Bradley’s Discovery of Stellar Aberration,” http://com/text/history/bradley.htm).
2. Marmet, “Stellar Aberration and Einstein’s Relativity,” http://www.newtonphysics.on.ca/aberration/index.html.
3. “Stellar Aberration,” http://www.anti-relativity.com/stellaraberration.htm.
4. “Earth Orbit Velocity,” http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/orbv3.html.
5. “How Fast is the Earth Moving?” https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-fast-is-the-earth-mov/.
6. “At What Speed does the Earth Move about the Sun?” http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/41-our-solar-system/the-earth/orbit/91-at-what-speed-does-the-earth-move-around-the-sun-beginner.
7. “Considering the Motion of the Earth, the Solar System, and the Galaxy, how Fast am I Moving while Lying in Bed Asleep?” http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/41-our-solar-system/the-earth/orbit/86-considering-the-motion-of-the-earth-the-solar-system-and-the-galaxy-how-fast-am-i-moving-while-lying-in-bed-asleep-intermediate.
8. “The Milky Way is Moving through the Universe at 2.1 Million Kilometers per Hour,” http://www.physics-astronomy.com/2017/07/the-milky-way-is-moving-through.html.
9. “The Fastest Spacecraft Ever?” https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/the-fastest-spacecraft-ever/.
10. “Milky Way,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way

Author contact details:  [email protected], [email protected]

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