Replies

What is the difference between Stellar aberration and Annual aberration and why is annual aberration called annual aberration?

It looks like some use the two terms interchangeably, while to others there is a difference, and the difference is this:

"Stellar Aberration" is the apparent displacement of a light source do strictly to the observer's transverse velocity -- regardless of whether that transverse velocity is caused by one's ride around the sun as they wait out the year, or whether the observer's transverse velocity is for any other reason - the reason doesn't matter, just the fact that the observer has a transverse velocity.

"Annual Aberration" on the other hand is the same basic thing as Stellar Aberration -- except that the transverse velocity of the observer must be caused by their ride around the sun as they wait out the year. Hence "Annual" -- as in "Yearly."

See this website for some indication of this.

Okay I gave it my best shot -- now be a man and give it your best shot! What do you say the difference is between "Stellar Aberration" and "Annual Aberration?"

Sure does, now read it : )

As I said, I used to read in this book as a pastime (along with other scientific books of course) years ago. The book has over 800 pages. And whatever page I open to it's like meeting an old friend. Most of what's in there I'm familiar with already. Is there a certain section you would like me to read again? And besides, isn't this just a distraction method of yours -- try to bury me in pages of reading material? Are you saying that WP and all the other websites that I've cited about stellar aberration and such are all wrong? I mean anybody can tell anybody to go read an endless list of books - but that really doesn't mean a thing. Anyway, below is a table of contents of a similar book (a different edition) and you can tell me if you see a certain section that you think I ought to read. (I copied this from amazon.)

But you never addressed any of the real issues. As Fichori pointed out, WP claims that the sun is constantly apparently deflected from its actual position by about 20 arcseconds due to the earth's transverse velocity as it orbits the sun. Do you agree with them on that? or are they wrong?

The reason I ask is because you said "Stellar aberration ... has almost nothing to do with the Earths velocity. " and yet everything else I'm reading says that the 20 arcseconds is caused by stellar aberration and is caused by the earths' transverse velocity!

So which is it? Are you saying you were wrong or that WP is wrong? I mean WP could be wrong -- so why not just say so?

It's high (are you?) time you answered some of these questions that you keep skirting around. We could talk on forever but if you keep refusing to answer the important questions then we aren't going to get any where. And it's not that I blame you for not wanting to go anywhere, because with the absurd things you've said, the only place to go is the crow pie deli.

Or maybe it is I who needs to go to the crow pie deli for lunch. But we won't get there if you won't address the issues!

-Jesse

Part One: Mechanics
2 Uniformly Accelerated Motion
3 Newton's Laws of Motion
4 Static Equilibrium
5 Work and Energy
6 Linear Momentum
7 Motion in Circle
8 Rotational Work, Energy and Momentum

Part Two: Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Matter: Oscillations and Waves
9 Mechanical Properties of Matter
10 Temperature and the Kinetic Theory of Gases
11 Thermal Properties of Matter
12 The First Law of Thermodynamics
13 The Second Law of Thermodynamics
14 Vibration and Waves
15 Sound

Part Three: Electricity and Magnetism
16 Electric Forces and Fields
17 Electric Potential
18 Direct-Current Circuits
19 Magnetism
20 Magnetic Induction
21 Alternating-Current Circuits

Part Four: Light and Optics
22 Electromagnetic Waves
23 Geometric Optics: The Reflection and Refraction of Light
24 Wave Optics: Interference and Diffraction
25 Optical Devices

Part Five: Modern Physics
26 Three Revolutionary Concepts
27 Energy Levels and Spectra of Atoms
28 The Atomic Nucleus