I The bending of starlight is twice the Newtonian prediction

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The discussion centers on the bending of starlight as predicted by General Relativity (GR) compared to Newtonian predictions. It is established that light bending in a uniform gravitational field aligns with Newtonian predictions, while GR predicts that light bending around massive objects, like stars, is twice that amount due to non-uniform gravitational fields. The Principle of Equivalence applies locally, but the trajectory of light from infinity to Earth involves non-uniformity, leading to the additional bending. The mathematical treatment of GR reveals that neglecting spatial curvature results in underestimating the bending effect, which is crucial for understanding the discrepancy. Ultimately, the factor of two in GR predictions is attributed to the curvature effects of non-uniform gravity rather than uniform fields.
  • #91
That mathpages treatment ("doubling the deflection") is really insightful. It shows that the total deflection is doubled w.r.t. Newton, but not necessarily at every point of the photon's path; that depends on your coordinates.
 

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