Proper velocity Proper velocity In relativity, proper velocity, also known as celerity, is an alternative to velocity for measuring motion. Whereas velocity relative to an observer is distance per unit time where both distance and time are measured by the observer, proper velocity relative to an observer divides observer-measured distance by the time elapsed on the clocks of the traveling object. Proper velocity equals velocity at low speeds. Proper velocity at high speeds, moreover, retains many of the properties that velocity loses in relativity compared with Newtonian theory. For example, proper velocity equals momentum per unit mass at any speed, and therefore
Binary mass function the true orbital velocity is low (implying low mass objects) and the inclination high (the orbit is seen edge-on), or that the true velocity is high (implying high mass objects) but the inclination low (the orbit is seen face-on). The peak radial velocity formula_1 is the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity curve, as shown in the figure. The orbital period formula_2 is found from the periodicity in the radial velocity curve. These are the two observable quantities needed to calculate the binary mass function. The observed object of which the radial velocity can be measured is taken to be object