Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. No mathematical preparation beyond that necessary for admission to UCLA in freshman standing. Course for general UCLA students, normally not intending to major in physical sciences. Introduction to exotic cosmic phenomena known as black holes, and their bizarre effects on fabric of space and time. Some black holes form in violent events that terminate lives of stars, while formation of much more massive black holes at centers of galaxies is still mysterious. Covers cosmic catastrophes including stellar explosions and mergers, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and gravitational waves. Discussion of depiction of black holes in popular culture. P/NP or letter grading.