>Hi Houston,
>
>You said:
>==============================================
>If your finger at one end of paper and the candle at the other end of the paper are not moving relative to each other then the frequency of the light observed at your finger is exactly the same as that at the origin (the candle).
>==============================================
>
>Because within the spacecraft all objects would not be moving relative to each other, thus appearing stationary, then the light waves from the candle would not be distorted, and I would have normal sight within the spacecraft itself, even though the spacecraft were moving at C relative to the emptiness of space, and for all intent and purposes moving at near C relative to other object, planet, etc, in space.
>
>If the spacecraft were moving away from an object at C or greater, the light emitted by the object would be outrun by the spacecraft and the wave would appear as a straight horizontal line. This would make the observed object invisible to the observer in the spacecraft.
>
>Two objects moving towards each other with a combined speed of C or greater would result in waves so short as to become a straight verticle line and would also result in making the object invisible to the observer. Is this correct?
>
>I have hear about the red and blue light waves that allow us to know whether distance stars are moving towards earth or away from earth.

Hi Leland,

My description was only for what happens when the observer and origin are both moving at less than (or near) the speed of light. At the speed of light things would (in theory) change. Light moving in the same direction as the observer (whether ahead or behind) would not be visible. Light traveling in the opposite direction would appear extremely shifted.

It seems light is all or nothing with regard to apparent velocity. This obviously ignores what scientists have managed to do in the laboratory with regard to slowing photons to literally a walking pace – but this is not in a vacuum.

RE: "I have hear about the red and blue light waves that allow us to know whether distance stars are moving towards earth or away from earth" - that is not quite accurate. The light does not change to one of red or blue. Instead, the frequency moves within the spectrum towards either red or blue (i.e. in one of two opposite directions). Indeed there might not be any red or blue light present, but the light could still be subject to a shift, dependent upon the chemical composition of the source of the light.