1993/07/01 by Robert J. Nemiroff · 12 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #astro-ph #gr-qc
paper · pdf · doi:10.1119/1.17224
published as Am.J.Phys.61:619,1993 · 23 pages, Plain TeX (v. 3.0), figures in American Journal of Physics, 61, 619, 1993, video available upon written (hard copy) request only
openalex publication_date 1993/07/01 · arxiv created 1993/12/02 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The visual distortion effects visible to an observer traveling around and descending to the surface of an extremely compact star are described. Specifically, trips to a ‘‘normal’’ neutron star, a black hole, and an ultracompact neutron star with extremely high surface gravity, are described. Concepts such as multiple imaging, red- and blue-shifting, conservation of surface brightness, the photon sphere, and the existence of multiple Einstein rings are discussed in terms of what the viewer would see. Computer generated, general relativistically accurate illustrations highlighting the distortion effects are presented and discussed. A short movie (VHS) depicting many of these effects is available to those interested free of charge.