2012: People of the year

26 December 2012

News image — Former US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon, died at the age of 82 in August following heart surgery. (Copyright: AP/Nasa)

AP/Nasa Former US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon, died at the age of 82 in August following heart surgery. (Copyright: AP/Nasa) — Former US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon, died at the age of 82 in August following heart surgery. (Copyright: AP/Nasa)

A collection of images of some of science and technology's biggest names over the past 12 months – and those who left us in 2012.

More amazing image galleries of the year:

A year in space

The year in technology

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Large Hadron Collider

'Major step': French MPs vote in favour of bill to ban social media for under-15s

If the bill passes the upper house it could take effect by the start of France's new school year in September.

2 hrs ago

3 hrs ago

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at a hearing. He has a neutral expression on his face.

Tech giants face landmark trial over social media addiction claims

Defendants include Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, TikTok's owner ByteDance and YouTube parent Google.

3 hrs ago

9 hrs ago

TikTok apologises after thousands in US report issues

The new US owners of the video streaming app attributed its issues to a data centre power outage.

9 hrs ago

14 hrs ago

EU investigates Elon Musk's X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes

The Commission will assess whether "manipulated sexually explicit images" have been shown to users in the EU.

14 hrs ago

21 hrs ago

A man with grey hair in a burgundy top is standing in an art workshop with colourful abstract art in the background. He is holding a canvas in a rainbow of colours that are painted in large pixel-like squares.

Artist to showcase oil paintings glitches

Paul Lemmon says the paintings examine the relationships people have with the online world.

21 hrs ago

2012: People of the year

Listen to the Sun like never before

Astronaut Peggy Whitson: How space changed my body

See Nasa's spectacular new images of Jupiter

The science behind the 'mini moon' entering Earth's orbit

New Nasa sonifications: Listen to the sound of the Universe

Are inflatable habitats the future of life in space?

We're about to witness a once-in-a-lifetime star explosion

This is why Venus is bone dry

Why space isn't as colourful as photos make it seem

Eclipse 2024: What makes it so special?

The eclipse that proved Einstein right

Inside Cern’s 'antimatter factory' creating antihydrogen

Three unsolved mysteries of the Moon

The age of the Universe might be drastically wrong

Fermi Paradox: Are we alone in the Universe?

Dark Matter: The underground lab unlocking the Universe

Vladimir Komarov: The cosmonaut who fell to Earth

The 'Great Moon Hoax' that fooled the world

Why Mars-bound astronauts may go to Iceland first

Three women who changed the way we see the Universe

'Major step': French MPs vote in favour of bill to ban social media for under-15s

Tech giants face landmark trial over social media addiction claims

TikTok apologises after thousands in US report issues

EU investigates Elon Musk's X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes

Artist to showcase oil paintings glitches