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Concept information

astronomical technique > astrometry > stellar aberration

Preferred term

stellar aberration  

Definition

  • Aberration of starlight is the difference between the observed position of a star and its true direction. It is a combined result of the observer's motion across the path of the incoming starlight and the finite speed of light. The effect is similar to that observed by someone walking in the rain: though the rain is in fact falling vertically, because of the person's motion it appears to be falling at an angle. (Encyclopedia of Science, by David Darling, https://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/A/aberration_starlight.html)

Broader concept

Entry terms

  • astronomical aberration
  • velocity aberration

In other languages

URI

http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-RRS7LWZ0-S

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