A black hole is a mathematically defined region of
spacetime exhibiting such a strong gravitational pull that no
particle or electromagnetic radiation can escape from it. [1]
The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently
compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole.
[2] The boundary of the region from which no escape is
possible is called the event horizon. Although crossing the
event horizon has enormous effect on the fate of the
object crossing it, it appears to have no locally detectable
features. In many ways a black hole acts like an ideal
black body, as it reflects no light. [3][4] Moreover, quantum
field theory in curved spacetime predicts that event horizons
emit Hawking radiation, with the same spectrum as a black
body of a temperature inversely proportional to its mass. This
temperature is on the order of billionths of a kelvin for
black holes of stellar mass , making it essentially impossible to
observe.
Objects whose gravitational fields are too strong for light to
escape were first considered in the 18th century by John
Michell and Pierre-Simon Laplace . The first modern solution
of general relativity that would characterize a black hole
was found by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916, although its
interpretation as a region of space from which nothing can
escape was first published by David Finkelstein in 1958. Long
considered a mathematical curiosity, it was during the 1960s
that theoretical work showed black holes were a generic
prediction of general relativity. The discovery of neutron
stars sparked interest in gravitationally collapsed compact
objects as a possible astrophysical reality.
Black holes of stellar mass are expected to form when very
massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycle. After a
black hole has formed, it can continue to grow by absorbing
mass from its surroundings. By absorbing other stars and
merging with other black holes, supermassive black holes of
millions of solar masses ( M☉ ) may form. There is general
consensus that supermassive black holes exist in the centers
of most galaxies .

Read more @ Wikipedia
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole




If you've watched the movie INTERSTELLAR you'd pretty much be familiar with this

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