Volume 18: Pages 561-564, 2005

Einstein's Principle of Relativity and Stellar Aberration

Stephan J. G. Gift

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies

This paper examines the possibility of detecting a difference in the stellar aberration phenomenon when generated in different inertial frames, as a means of testing Einstein's principle of relativity. Specifically, stellar aberration resulting alternately from movement of Earth and movement of the light source are examined and show an observable difference that is inconsistent with the relativity principle.

Keywords: special theory of relativity, Einstein's principle of relativity, light speed invariance postulate, stellar aberration

Received: May 4, 2005; Published online: December 15, 2008