Universal antigravitation, a new physical phenomenon discovered astronomically at distances of 5 to 8 billion light years, manifests itself as cosmic repulsion that acts between distant galaxies and overcomes their gravitational attraction, resulting in the accelerating expansion of the Universe. The source of the antigravitation is not galaxies or any other bodies of nature but a previously unknown form of mass/energy that has been termed dark energy. Dark energy accounts for 70 to 80% of the total mass and energy of the Universe and, in macroscopic terms, is a kind of continuous medium that fills the entire space of the Universe and is characterized by positive density and negative pressure. With its physical nature and microscopic structure unknown, dark energy is among the most critical challenges fundamental science faces in the twenty-first century.