Supposed that a light source

  • emits waves during the proper time interval , which is the time observed from the moving light source
  • For in the light source’s frame, the stationary observer experiences coordinate time ( from Lorentz Transformation)

In the stationary observer’s frame

  • Use as > 0 when the source and receiver are receding from each other (red shift to lower frequency [this is the current signs for ])
  • Use as < 0 when the source and receiver are approaching each other (blue shift to higher frequency)