Black holes are regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from its grasp.
They are formed from the remnants of massive stars that have run out of fuel and collapsed under their own weight.
The point at which the collapse becomes so intense that not even light can escape is called the event horizon.
Anything that crosses the event horizon is sucked into the black hole and is lost forever. Black holes can vary in size, with some being only a few times more massive than the Sun, while others can be billions of times more massive.
Despite being invisible, scientists can study black holes by observing their effects on the surrounding matter, such as the way they distort light and influence the motion of stars and gas.