Everyone's sharing the close-up image of the black hole itself, which is neat, but here is a zoomed-out view of the gigantic mass of space-stuff that it is busily consuming: http://chandra.harvard.edu/blog/node/719
@MrControl the evil empire could have come from somewhere else and be comprised of a mix of all the races.
What if humans were simply disregarded by the empire due to their short lifespans? They could have been the folks working dangerous jobs in sewers and roofs because after all "they will die soon anyways." They could have become the spies of the resistance because the empire didn't think they lived long enough to pose a threat.