3 ms·
Actually, even more than that! There is a very narrow region where photons can actually orbit a black hole multiple times before escaping. In fact there is a re
by titzer 7y ago
Actually, even more than that! There is a very narrow region where photons can actually orbit a black hole multiple times before escaping. In fact there is a region where photons may orbit indefinitely!
https://www.universetoday.com/110682/can-light-orbit-a-black-hole/ https://www.universetoday.com/110682/can-light-orbit-a-black...
- ToadBoatFording 7y agoThe article mentions the photon sphere, but is there any source on "orbit multiple times before escaping"? My experience is just in Kerbal Space Program, which is a 2-body approximation, but afaik once you are in orbit, you can't escape without changing your velocity. Also, 180 degrees is the exclusive limit of a gravity bend; less than 180 is not an orbit, but as soon as you reach 180 degree bend, it becomes an orbit. Of course, with 3-body things get much more complicated. For a third body to pull photons out of a photo sphere, fascinating and I can imagine it happening, but I haven't seen any sources along these lines.
- jcims 7y agoWith all of the mass inflow there is likely a very turbulent gravitational environment just outside of the event horizon. This could be sufficent to provide a little transient local lensing to kick a photon back out (or in).