In 55 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad of the past 12 months
All Cracked Up: A Surprising Look Inside the Moon
The twin GRAIL spacecraft provide new insights into the moon’s tortured past
Voyager 1 at the Threshold of Forever
A 35-year old spacecraft prepares to exit the solar system and enter interstellar space
As the World Keeps Getting Warmer, California Begins to Cap Carbon
Carbon emissions keep rising and the world keeps getting hotter, but there’s little progress at the U.N. climate summit in Doha. If you want hope on climate change, though, look West—to California
Ancient Human Poop: Ah, the Tales It Can Tell
Humans leave a lot of priceless artifacts — and some not so priceless ones. But both kinds can teach us a lot.
Why Seeing Is Believing—Usually—When It Comes to Climate Change
When people have personal experience with climate change, they tend to become believers—unless they were already skeptics. Will extreme weather events like Sandy be enough to change the equation on climate change belief?
Carbon Pollution Up to 2 Million Pounds a Second
(WASHINGTON) — The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent. So scientists say it’s now unlikely that global warming can be limited to a couple degrees, which is an international goal.
Window on Infinity: Pictures from Space
From Mars Curiosity’s self portrait to a destructive Saturn cyclone, view our monthly roundup of cosmic highlights from November 2012.
Ice (and Maybe Organics) on Mercury
New NASA findings reveal that the tiny, fiery world includes some unexpected features
Climate Change: Polar Ice Sheets Melting Faster, Raising Sea Levels
The rate of polar ice-sheet melting is key to calculating how fast sea levels are rising. Now, scientists have a new analysis of polar ice loss in Greenland and Antarctica—and the numbers aren’t good for the planet.
Watch the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season in 4.5 Minutes
This year’s storms in video format
U.N.: 2012 Warmer Than Normal Despite La Niña
(DOHA, Qatar) — Despite early cooling from La Nina, 2012 is on track to become one of the top 10 hottest years on record, with the U.S. experiencing extreme warmth and Arctic Sea ice shrinking to its lowest extent, the U.N. weat …
Flickering Stars: Could Aliens Be Sending Us Signals?
An improbable search for ET could produce real results
U.N. Global Warming Summit: Heading Over the Climate Cliff
The U.N. climate summit is beginning in Middle Eastern city of Doha—but expectations are as low as they can be. Why can’t the world take the climate crisis seriously?