More details: See hereBlack holes are one of the most mysterious cosmic phenomena, despite how much we continue to learn about them. While considered a mathematical possibility for many years, the first black hole wasn't discovered until Cygnus X-1 in 1971 .
We now know that black holes occur frequently throughout the universe. One Sagittarius A* sits at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. In fact, according to NASA most galaxies of a similar size have monster black holes at their center. Sagittarius A* has approximately 4 million times more mass than the Sun.
Don't believe the hype about a scary black hole eating everything it can possibly attract. If our sun were replaced with a black hole of the same mass, our solar system would orbit similarly to how it does now, but it would be a lot colder.
We don't know what matter looks like inside a black hole. We do know that any matter that crosses the Event Horizon, a black hole's edge, would ultimately undergo what's called spaghettification. It's exactly what it sounds like: Matter would be squeezed and stretched and basically turned into a noodle.
Black holes can be identified using a variety of imaging techniques including x-ray images and ultraviolet wavelengths. Gravitational wave observatories have also been able to detect the ripples in space-time created when two black holes merge. Scientists are still attempting to answer the question of how the enormous black holes at the center of galaxies came to be there in the first place.
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