Exploring the Reality of Light Propagation: Speed and Redshift in Space

Have you ever pondered the weird and wonderful effects that ensue when traveling at the speed of light? How would a distant observer perceive you, or how would your perception of the world change? In this article, we will delve into the fascinating realm of light propagation and redshift in space, challenging some of the postulates of relativity and proposing a new hypothesis.

Perception of Time and Distance at the Speed of Light

When you’re traveling away from someone at the speed of light, they will seem frozen in time. This occurs because the photons bouncing off them are traveling at the same speed as you. Conversely, if you are approaching someone, you will not be able to see anything, as the momentum resulting from the impact of light on your eyes would be blinding.

Interstellar Redshift and Light Propagation

From your perspective, when viewing the most distant stars, you are already traveling at a speed close to the speed of light relative to them. Due to the finite speed of light, the starlight you see from these distant stars is redshifted and appears to come from a time billions of years ago. The speed of light propagation, (c), through interstellar space can be described as (c-v), where (v) is the relative velocity between you and the star.

Evidence from Stellar Aberration

Observations of stellar aberration indicate that starlight arrives at the observer at the propagation speed (c). This suggests that the speed of light propagation must increase by (v) somewhere en route through interstellar space. Similarly, if observers are incoming towards an emitter, the speed of propagation must decrease, as implied by special relativity.

Challenging Einstein's Postulates

Einstein’s second postulate in special relativity, which states that the speed of light is constant in all inertial frames, is challenged by the evidence from recent observations. This invalidates the Lorentz invariance constraint used in much of modern theoretical physics. The second postulate is fundamentally based on the premise that the speed of light is a universal constant, which recent observations suggest is not always the case.

Hypothesis for Light Propagation in Interstellar Space

Given the evidence from gravitational waves and gamma rays, it is proposed that the speed of starlight in interstellar space is controlled by neighboring masses, just like gravitational waves. This can be considered equivalent to a locally prevailing zero-speed reference or "gravitational ether."

Classical Doppler Scale Factors

The classical Doppler scale factors are defined by (frac{c}{c - v ), not by the invalid Lorentz factor used in special relativity. Using this, we can estimate radial speeds up to approximately 0.93c, explaining observed redshift factors up to 14.

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