What would an external observer see when passed by an Alcubierre drive ship?

My answer to the question Is there a scientifically sound faster-than-light travel system for a spaceship? involved an Alcubierre-drive starship.

However, that then got me thinking. What would an external observer see when passed by such a ship? When not operating, an observer would see just a stationary ship, but what about when it was operating and travelling faster than light? Would there be any redshift or blueshift? Would there be any distortion of the image, and if so, how? Would the drive field be visible? Would it look like it was going forward, or since it is moving faster than light relative to the observer, would it look like it was going backwards? Can you describe what you'd see from the moment it became visible to the moment it vanished into the distance, and how that would relate to its actual direction of travel?

Ignore the fact that a human observer probably wouldn't have time to see anything as it would pass too quickly to see, assume a theoretically perfect observer.

posted over 9 years ago

Monty Wild‭

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