Question

Because the direction of Earth's motion around the Sun continually changes during the year, the apparent position of a star in the sky moves in a small loop, known as the aberration of starlight. In order to better understand this phenomenon, it is sometimes helpful to use visual analogies. In these visual analogies, the car is analogous to the Earth, and the rainfall is analogous to starlight. Determine which visual analogies correspond to the following scenarios:

A) The Earth moving around the Sun and interacting with light from a distant star
B) A person on the moving Earth observing the light from a distant star
C) A person on a motionless Earth observing the light from a distant star

Answer 1

B) A person on the moving Earth observing the light from a distant star

Step-by-step explanation:

The aberration of starlight is a phenomenon in Astronomy used to describe the 'seeming' or apparent movement of a star around its true position. This seeming' or apparent movement of a star is caused by and dependent on the velocity of the observer. The movement of the observer relative to the star creates the notion that the star is moving. However, in reality, the star is static. The star is not moving, what is really moving is the observer; this movement of the observer is what makes it seem that the star was moving. It is not an optical illusion, although, the effect seems close enough.

For example, in the analogy given:

A car moving in the rain or under the rainfall

The car is the one moving in the same way that the Earth is the one revolving. The rainfall drops vertically in the same way that the starlight is static. The movement of the car relative to the rainfall is what makes it seem that the rain is falling 'diagonally'. The same visual analogy is observe when a person on the moving Earth observing the light from a distant star

Hence, the correct option is B