What is a black hole Well, it"s difficult to answer this question, since the terms we would normally use to describe a scientific phenomenon are inadequate here. Astronomers and scientists think that a black hole is a region of space (not a thing) into which matter has fallen and from which nothing can escape not even light. So we can"t see a black hole. A black hole exerts a strong gravitational pull and yet it has no matter. It is only space—or so we think. How can this happen The theory, is that some stars explode when their density increases to a particular point; they collapse and sometimes a supernova occurs. From Earth, a supernova looks like a very bright light in the sky which shines even in the daytime. The most convincing evidence of black holes comes from research into binary star systems. Binary stars, as their name suggests, are twin stars whose position in space affects each other. In some binary systems, astronomers have shown that there is an invisible companion star, a "partner" to the one which we can see in the sky. Matter from the one which we can see is being pulled towards the companion star. Could this invisible star, which exerts such a great force, be a black hole Astronomers have evidence of a few other stars too, which might have black holes as companions. The story of black holes is just beginning. Speculations about them are endless. There might be a massive black hole at the center of our galaxy swallowing up stars at a very rapid rate. Mankind may one day meet this fate. On the other hand, scientists have suggested that very advanced technology could one day make use of the energy of black holes for mankind. These speculations sound like science fiction. But the theory of black holes in space is accepted by many serious scientists and astronomers. They show us a world which operates in a totally different way from our own and they question our most basic experience of space and time. [Key words] supernova 超新星 galaxy 银河,星系