Two mates and a mirror - Theoretical Relativity Question
For some reason, this scenario has been stuck in my head for a long time, with no resolution. I am by no means any expert in physics and science, but have always had a personal interest.
Anyway, here goes:
Two friends floating in space with a mirror:
Let’s say two men were floating still next to each other, looking at a single mirror. They both see the two of them there in the frame.
Now say that mirror, and your mate suddenly fly away from you at the speed of light, or just under.
For this scenario, assume the person left still (not traveling away with the mirror) has super vision, and still has the capacity to see the mirror, but would still be confined to his own relative speed of light laws.
Question 1: what would the stationary man see on the mirror?
Question 2: what would the moving man see in the mirror? Would they see their reflection as per normal, and the stationary man’s image stuck still in time?
Note: I understand the silliness of suggesting the stationary friend can still see the resolution of the mirror, but in this scenario, I want to understand what they would see, not if they could see. Also, let’s assume we are working in a complete vacuum version of space, so no light is being bent, or slowed down by other external factors - just purely theoretical.
Hope that makes sense.
Posted Jan 10, 2026, 12:30 AM UTC