Upwards of a billion stars in our galaxy have burnt up their internal energy sources, and so can no longer produce the heat a star needs to oppose the inward force of gravity. These stars, of more than a few solar masses, evolve, in general, much more rapidly than does a star like the Sun. Moreover, it is just these more massive stars whose collapse does not halt at intermediate stages (that is, as white dwarfs or neutron stars). Instead, the collapse continues until a singularity (an infinitely dense concentration of matter) is reached.

It would be wonderful to observe a singularity and obtain direct evidence of the undoubtedly bizarre phenomena that occur near one. Unfortunately in most cases a distant observer cannot see the singularity; outgoing light rays are dragged back by gravity so forcefully that even if they could start out (start out: v.出发, 动身) within a few kilometers of the singularity, they would end up (end up: v.竖着, 结束, 死) in the singularity itself.