Quote:
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Originally Posted by RussT
Jeff, if you look at the pic again you see the light path curved
'out' away from the planet.
"IF" gravity can affect photons, then the light path should be
'pulled in' towards the planet, and the curve should be the
opposite way.
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OH MY! Russ, I thought you were way, way beyond this.
Look at the orbit of an artificial satellite, natural moon,
or planet. The orbit curves around the more massive body, in
the same direction as the curve in the diagram.
When a spacecraft flies past a planet, its path is a hyperbola.
Just like the path of the light in the diagram. The only
difference is that the path of the light is altered very little
compared to the path of a spacecraft, because light moves past
the planet at such a high speed. Light does not have time to
be pulled much by the planets' gravity.
The spacecraft and the light are pulled toward the planet.
That is what the diagram shows for light. The light moves
closer to the planet than it would have if it had kept going
in a straight line.
-- Jeff, in Minneapolis
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