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2012 was another great year for Yuri’s Night headlines! Read on for a summary of some of the top YN12 mentions in the news:

Any discussion of Yuri’s Night in the news has to start with two fantastic stories. Alan Boyle, of MSNBC.com’s Cosmic Log, posted a great article about Yuri’s Night before the first parties even started, highlighting Yuri’s Night’s virtual events and interviewing YN Director of Marketing Veronica Ann Zabala-Aliberto. And over at The Huffington Post, Zoe P. Strassfield wrote a glowing Yuri’s Night review, complete with how-to tips and a comprehensive playlist of space-themed music to play at your event. “Across The Universe” and “The Final Countdown” are no-brainers, but how about Stephen Kay’s “The Challenger” or “Higher and Higher” by The Moody Blues? Give it a listen!

If you’re a regular reader of Wired News, SPACE.com, the Washington Times, io9, The Inquisitr, RedOrbit, or one of a variety of other news sources, odds are you saw stories about Yuri’s Night pop up on your news feed. (Click any of the previous links to read their take on YN.) Individual events got great writeups in their local papers, as well–Buffalo, Huntsville (Alabama), Washington D.C., Hampton Roads, and many more! Perhaps most important of all, though, are the articles which don’t feature Yuri’s Night at their center. Every time a blog discusses video games in the context of Gagarin’s spirit of exploration, or an editorial writer uses Yuri’s Night as the backdrop for a discussion on STEM education, Yuri’s Night becomes a part of the cultural landscape, one step closer to being as widely celebrated as Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick’s Day.

Last, but not least, don’t forget the international news, with YN stories featured everywhere from the Oman Observer to Vienna’s der Standard to Lisbon’s Ciencia Hoje and beyond! If you have any other Yuri’s Night stories you’d like to see publicized, please post them to our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/yurisnight!

Happy Yuri’s Night! Now that we’ve had a chance to catch our breath a bit after last weekend’s festivities, we’d like to start taking a look at some of the most rocking moments and achievements from this year’s Yuri’s Night. It’s important to note, though that Yuri’s Night isn’t over yet! There are still parties to be held in cities as diverse as New York City, Peshawar, Pakistan, and Ica, Peru, we still have contest winners to announce, and we won’t be officially finishing up YN12 until this year’s ISDC–so stay tuned for the latest on these and other stories.

First, an update from the South Pole! Temperatures of -80°F and the dark of winter haven’t stopped the intrepid scientists at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station from celebrating Yuri’s Night. Check out, for example, their Yuri’s Night toast from 2010–and by all accounts, the YN12 party was just as big of a blast:

Thanks to Kris Amundson and everyone else at the South Pole for getting this together!

8500 miles away, Yuri’s Night co-founders George and Loretta Whitesides were coming together with leaders of the space industry, space enthusiasts, and everyday partiers to celebrate at our flagship event, YN Los Angeles in the W Hollywood Hotel. This video pretty much says it all:

Finally, in case you hadn’t heard, Yuri’s Night 2012 is officially the second-largest year in YN history! On April 12th, Van Nuys, California became the 223rd event, breaking a tie with 2010 and leaving this year short only of the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2011. Yuri’s Night 2011 currently stands at 233 events–and counting!