Aberration (astronomy)
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In astronomy, aberration is a phenomenon where celestial objects exhibit an apparent motion about their true positions based on the velocity of the observer: It causes objects to appear to be displace
Bradley's observations of Eltanin (γ Draconis) and 35 Camelopardalis as reduced by Busch to the year 1730
Hypothetical observation of Eltanin if its movement was caused by parallax
Hypothetical observation of γ Draconis and 35 Camelopardalis if their movements were caused by nutation
Figure 2: As light propagates down the telescope, the telescope moves requiring a tilt to the telescope that depends on the speed of light. The apparent angle of the star φ differs from its true angle θ.
James Bradley
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James Bradley was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light, and the n
Aberration (astronomy)
…was not the effect of parallax, but he still interpreted it within a geocentric framework. It was Manfredi who coined the term aberration. In 1727, James Bradley provided a classical explanation for it in terms of the finite speed of light relative to the motion of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, which…
Portrait by Thomas Hudson, c. 1744