Apparent movement

noun
(psychol) the sensation of seeing movement when nothing actually moves in the environment, as when two neighbouring lights are switched on and off in rapid succession
Historical Examples

The observer sits with his eye to the telescope, watching the apparent movement of the star.
Marvels of Scientific Invention Thomas W. Corbin

However, is it not interesting to attribute the apparent movement to irradiation?
Visual Illusions Matthew Luckiesh

An illusion such as the apparent movement of the sun will persist as a partially developed error long after it has been convicted.
Illusions James Sully

The next was that the apparent movement was in the plumb-line, the line of reference.
Astronomical Discovery Herbert Hall Turner

The day broke, and showed the schooner continuing her pursuit at the same distance astern, without any apparent movement on board.
The Pirate and The Three Cutters Frederick Marryat

The bonefish noses around the bait and sucks it in without any apparent movement of the line.
Tales of Fishes Zane Grey

They danced in a direction against the apparent movement of the sun, the men leading, the women following.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) Carl Lumholtz

The winter passed without any apparent movement on the part of the executors looking to the discovery of Mrs. Allen’s heirs.
The Allen House T. S. Arthur

But in this apparent movement, there are the elements of a more exact view.
Essays on the Materialistic Conception of History Antonio Labriola

Now the sun, in its apparent movement round the earth, traverses one degree in four minutes, or fifteen degrees an hour.
The Mysterious Island Jules Verne