Although for many critics the quest to know more about black hole is a waste of time and resources, the enthused scientists believe that studying these points in space can unveil how the universe was formed from a gravitational singularity.

But before all the details, let's address the most common question…

What is black hole?

In layman's term, black holes are points in spacetime that exhibit very high gravitational pull that even light cannot escape. (Spacetime makes for 3-D space and 1-D time!)

Every star has its lifespan. Once they inch to the end of their lives, they inflate, lose mass and become white dwarfs. However, the larger stars, they go through massive explosions (called supernovae). After the burst, although the star matters float away in the space, a very stellar core remains. This core, with high inward pull of gravity, begins to collapse in itself. This collapse in its own mass leads to the birth of infinitely small point, which we call black hole… A black hole, a very tiny spot, that contains massively powerful gravitational pull.

There are four types of black holes:

• Stellar

• Miniature

• Intermediate

• Supermassive

As the name suggests, Supermassive black hole, which was predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity, is the largest one… a type whose first-ever image we've got recently:

Per many astronomers, there are anywhere between 10 million and a billion of stellar black holes, which are three-times the mass of our sun. Over the centuries, each grows by pulling anything and everything that's too close to them, from gas to dust.

Beyond these basic things, not much conclusive is known about black holes. We're still trying to find out more.

More information on it would spill how the gravity really works, how we can control it, how the universe was formed, and so many fundamental aspects of the universe. Also, more research would help us recognize if black holes are a threat to our civilization.

The latest and first-ever picture of a supermassive black hole is a very big feat. It comes after century-long speculation if black holes exist or not. Over the decades, many theories were tossed, but nobody knew it for sure. But now we know! It's the beginning of a new era where scientists can do a lot more to explore this what was a mystery. Maybe send an object to see what's inside?

Till date, theories only hypothesized that inside the black hole, there's a whole different galaxy, with many other civilizations. Of course, they are mere conspiracy theories, romanticized by the movie industries.

Hopefully, this answered your question of what is black hole.. and why it's so important.

If you want to know more, watch Interstellar.

Or read this lecture transcript of Stephen Hawking. A very interesting read!