The physical world we experience is one of normal matter, energy, and--if one looks up at night--stars. But on larger scales, the universe has an exotic and much-less-well-understood side dominated by things we call dark matter, dark energy, and black holes. What are these mysterious components, and what is the relationship between them and the world that is familiar to us? The answers lie at the frontier of modern astrophysics. In this course, we explore the evidence for the existence of these dark components and the current debates regarding their nature and origin. In different ways, each of them has a vital role in the evolution of the universe and its ultimate fate. |