Our understanding of the universe is in turmoil. Where once we thought of a universe filled with shining stars and galaxies, we now know that luminous matter is little more than a thin icing on a dark and ponderous cosmic cake.
Aimed at general readers and armchair astronomers alike, this book shows how our ideas about the nature and content of the universe have developed and changed out of all recognition. It highlights the key discoveries, explains the underlying concepts, and examines current thinking on the nature of dark matter and dark energy. It describes the techniques which astronomers use to explore the remote recesses of the cosmos in their quest to understand its composition, evolution and ultimate fate, and looks at how particle hunters, working deep underground, are attempting to track down and identify those long sought and
elusive dark matter particles.