Movie: Approaching Light Speed
Image Credit & Copyright:
Antony Searle &
Craig Savage
(ANU)
What would it look like to travel near the speed of light?
Strange visual effects would appear as documented in the
above relativistically-accurate animation.
First of all,
relativistic
aberration would cause objects to
appear to bunch
up in front you.
Next, the Doppler shift would cause the colors of forward objects to shift toward the blue, while things behind you would
shift toward the red.
Similarly, the world in front of you would seem to
move unusually fast, while the world behind you
would appear to slow down.
Objects to the sides will appear
rotated, possibly enabling surfaces normally hidden from you to become visible.
Of course, since constant motion is relative,
the same effects would occur were you to
remain stationary and the entire world advanced toward you.