I like David's answer, above, but he left out another consideration: refraction. A light source more distant than the black hole may have its light bent (from our reference) in such a way that it appears to me coming from the black hole. Gravity affects light as it would any other mass, and a photon could, in theory "orbit" a black hole for many, many revolutions before finally flinging itself free, and away, or it may just bend a little and allow you see what's behind the black hole. More to your question, look up the work of Richard Kipp. He's a physicist who has chronicaled the "history" of black hole theories, and has developed some of his own conjectures, as well. A note of caution, though: stay away from his worm-hole work. It has been proven (we think) wrong.

: : okee.. i have a question.. it may be stupid but it is an : : ongoing conversation with my roommate. : : If one could detect a black hole would it appear darker : : than the black of space? : : since there is NO light being reflected at all in the : : area in the detected black hole i would think that : : nothing could be seen and the total absence of visible : : light would cause it to appear darker : : this is all based on the fact that the hole had been : : detected because there is a cloud of gas around it that : : is in the process of being sucked in : : pls respond! :) : : thank you! : Well teh answer is "no". Black is not actually a color it is : the absence of color. If you stuch your head inside a box : that sealed out all the "light", that would be what a black : hole looks like. Remember also we can only "see" visible light. : there is lods of light outside the visible spectrum that we can not : see with our eyes. Also remember that you may have sources : shining between the black hole and your eyes. ie you can see the : stars between you and the black hole which may make that part of : the sky look fairly "light".

: David