Consequence of light pointing towards a blackhole

[cooper607]

hi guys, i have an elementary question about the black hole..recently i have read in a science magazine that even the lights from other stars can not reach to the black hole ( event horizon) rather bends in other direction due to its gravitational force..now my question is if i point a light source towards a black hole , will it not hit the black hole (event horizon ) and never return to me ? or it will just bend tangent to the horizon and go to some other space ...

previously i thought black holes just grab light and never returns it ...but grabs actually...is it wrong thinking ?
please help me
regards

 

[russ_watters]

You had it right: the light will enter the black hole and never return, if it is pointed right at the black hole. If the light is pointed next to the black hole, it may loop back around and return to you (or go in another direction).

 

[Spourk]

Check out Einstein rings for the gravitational lensing effects on what Black Holes do to light that isn't quite caught in it's maw:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_ring

 

[cooper607]

thanks a lot.. now i can ask the author of the paper how he mentioned it ..