A black hole is a region of space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, including light, can escape. This happens when a massive star dies and collapses in on itself, creating a singularity with infinite density.
As light travels near a black hole, it follows the curvature of space-time created by the black hole's immense gravitational pull. This causes the light to orbit the black hole in a circular or elliptical path.
While we cannot directly observe light orbiting a black hole, we can detect its effects through various methods such as studying the light emitted from matter falling into the black hole or observing gravitational lensing, where the path of light is bent by the black hole's gravity.
The larger the mass of a black hole, the stronger its gravitational pull and the more it will bend the path of light. This means that the closer the light is to the black hole, the faster it will orbit and the more distorted its path will be.
No, once light crosses the event horizon of a black hole, it is unable to escape. This is because the escape velocity, or the speed required to escape the gravitational pull, exceeds the speed of light. Therefore, even light, which travels at the fastest speed possible, is unable to escape from a black hole.