Geometrical optics of moving media

The propagation of a monochromatic light wave in a medium moving at a spatially nonuniform velocity is described in terms of geometrical optics. An eikonal equation is derived to the first order in the parameter v/c (where v is the velocity of the medium and c is the velocity of light). It is shown that the nonuniformity of the motion of the medium leads to a shift and bending of the light rays and to a rotation of the plane of polarization. The estimates obtained demonstrate the feasibility of observing the revealed effects in real experiments. These effects can be used to analyze the distributions of the velocity of motion of fluids and, possibly, gases.