  This article gives an elementary review of gravitational collapse and the
cosmic censorship hypothesis. Known models of collapse resulting in the
formation of black holes and naked singularities are summarized. These models,
when taken together, suggest that the censorship hypothesis may not hold in
classical general relativity. The nature of the quantum processes that take
place near a naked singularity, and their possible implication for
observations, is briefly discussed.

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology;Astrophysics;High Energy Physics - Theory