Is it possible to see the back of an object traveling at relativistic speeds? A while ago someone told me it's possible to see the opposite side of an object when it's moving at relativistic speeds. I don't remember where I heard this, and they didn't give me an explanation, but I've been trying to think if it could be true. As far as I can tell it's not true for objects with constant velocity, no matter the speed or direction (I'll omit my reasoning as the burden of proof is not on me yet). I'm pretty sure it's also not true for accelerating objects. Has anyone else heard this claim, or can anyone think of why it might be true?
 A: In a word: no.
When you appear to "see around" an object in SR visualizations, you are seeing exactly the same parts of it as you would if you were stationary, but the object is projected further forward than it really is by aberration when you move at relativistic speeds relative to the "scenery".
If you imagine you are in a doorway you can see the inside edges only.  Those edges are exactly what you would see if you were moving at high speed at the same location, but in that case they appear in front of you , and look "inside out" to keep the edges facing you as when you were stationary.  At the exact moment you pass through the doorway they will actually appear to form a circle in front of you!  The plane you are standing in when stationary becomes projected into a cone in front of you, which closes up as your speed relative to your surroundings increases.
It is unfortunate that early analyses used a sphere rather than a doorway, leading to the idea of (Terrell) "rotation".
It might help to watch one of the videos I made here.  It is easier to see than to explain!  The "goalposts" are just like door frames.  There is a fuller description of what you are seeing in the playlist page.
A: If you are looking at the “back side” of a moving object, it is moving away from you. If it is moving away at a relativistic speed, the light which it emits (or reflects) will be subject to a large Doppler shift, and may no longer be in the visible part of the spectrum.
