Artwork of a black hole. A black hole is a region of spacetime where the gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape them. They are created when massive stars die. This one is surrounded by an accretion disc of material, the light from which is warped by the strong gravity. Both the front of the disc and the portion behind the black hole are visible, as well as the underside of the disc (arc at top), whose light has been bent over the hole towards the viewer.