this post was submitted on 29 May 2026
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According to the theory of special relativity it IS possible to view two objects moving faster than the speed of light relative to each other. You may think this is not the case but, let me explain. I saw this get confused in a lemmy thread and wasn't setup to post there so I'll clarify here for the interested.

Consider the following: observer A sees a craft B moving right at 0.6c, and another craft D moving left at 0.6c such that they are on a collision course.

B------> <------D

          A

what I'm asserting is A does observe B and D moving at 1.2c relative to each other. The Lorenz transformation is not needed! People get tripped up, but the setup gives away the answer. A sees nothing moving faster than c relative to A so there is no violation of theory.

Special relativity becomes relevant here when determing what is observed in reference frames other than ones own, i.e. B or D. Based on what A sees, it seems like B should see D moving at 1.2c , but applying the lorenz transformation to get B's perspective we see that it doesn't, and everything is seen as slower than c.

B observes A moving at 0.6c, and D at something like, idk, 0.85c (length contraction along the axis of travel is especially relevant here).

   B <---------D

<------A

Just as easily this setup could involve objects moving away from each other and could represent distant objects being pushed away from eachother by the expansion of the universe. The neat thing there is that once they're far enough to cross the horizon above c, they'll never see each other because the light isn't fast enough to cross the gap, so conventiently a violation still isn't observed! wowee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe

light emitted by objects currently situated beyond a certain comoving distance (currently about 19 gigaparsecs (62 Gly)) will never reach Earth.

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[–] plinky@hexbear.net 2 points 54 minutes ago* (last edited 52 minutes ago)

also light can sweep faster than speed of light (obviously), say waving a laser pointer in arc, the point on reflective far-enough surface will move faster than speed of light, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_paradox

no information however is transmitted on the surface and this doesn't break anything. pulsars sweep faster than light at those distances as well

[–] peeonyou@hexbear.net 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

The neat thing there is that once they're far enough to cross the horizon above c, they'll never see each other because the light isn't fast enough to cross the gap

that doesn't explain dark matter / energy? seems like that would be an explanation for it, but i know nothing of any of this stuff.

[–] AnarchoAnarchist@hexbear.net 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Dark matter and dark energy are two different phenomena that explain inconsistencies that we've measured with observable galaxies.

https://youtu.be/PbmJkMhmrVI

I found this video to be very good primer on what dark matter is, and the evidence for it.

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 1 hour ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[–] NephewAlphaBravo@hexbear.net 3 points 3 hours ago

light emitted by objects currently situated beyond a certain comoving distance (currently about 19 gigaparsecs (62 Gly)) will never reach Earth

it takes a rare space fact to fuck me up and this is one of them, i don't like it