2012 is now officially the second-largest Yuri’s Night ever. Congrats to Van Nuys, CA on being event #223!

— Yuri’s Night (@YurisNight) April 12, 2012

The count for 2012 has topped out at 236 parties in 51 countries on all 7 continents – our second best year ever! (compared to 567 parties in 75 countries in 2011)

For fun, we collected a few of our favorite Yuri’s Night tweets from this year. Here goes:

Happy Yuri’s Night! 51 years ago a great advance in exploration happened – 1st human in space. And we love exploration! #YurisNight

— X PRIZE Foundation (@xprize) April 12, 2012

Yuri’s Night with George Whitesides of Virgin Galactic. Onward upward! twitter.com/TheScienceGuy/…

— Bill Nye (@TheScienceGuy) April 13, 2012

April 12, 1961: first human in orbit. April 12, 1981: first flight of SpaceShuttle. April 12, 2012: Snooki in 2nd trimester.

— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) April 13, 2012

Got Yuri’s Night plans? We’re having a Tang & astro ice cream social at TG HQ & then partying w/ #yndc12 @ScienceClub: j.mp/ImCcPO

— thinkgeek (@thinkgeek) April 11, 2012

So thank you to all the long-time supporters of Yuri’s Night, especially the avid space geek writers at Huffington Post and Wired.com. Thanks to every person who hosted or attended a party. You help us make this the greatest worldwide space party in human history every year!

Thanks as well to all those people that participated in Yuri’s Night Flashback this year on Yuri’s Night Live. We got some great pictures and video there from 2012 but also some great posts from 2011 all the way back to the first Yuri’s Night party in 2001 at The Hollywood Palace. We will be announcing the winner with the executive board’s favorite flashback picture before the end of May and they will get an awesome Space Songs CD from us. If you want to see the past and present of Yuri’s Night from around the globe, be sure to check out the photos at Yuri’s Night Live – and feel free to add your own to the collection!

So thanks once again for a great Yuri’s Night 2012, make sure you get involved with our partners to continue celebrating space throughout the year, and remember – Yuri’s Night 2013 is only 11 months away!

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!

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!

If you’ve ever used Google+, you probably know about the awesomeness of Hangouts, a quick and easy way to video chat with several of your friends at once. In celebration of Yuri’s Night and Global Astronomy Month, Google+ has added a special astronaut “effect” to Hangouts, which lets you rock your astronomical side with a Yuri’s Night-themed space helmet that shows up on your videoscreen while you’re chatting. Thanks to Timothy Jordan, Alex Herwig and Tim Bailey for making this happen!

We’ve had some great reports from Yuri’s Night events over at Yuri’s Night Live, but we want to hear from more of you! Send us your pictures, videos and stories at submit2@yurisnight.net.

Last, but not least, we’re proud to announce that 2012 is officially the second-largest Yuri’s Night ever! Van Nuys, CA, our 223rd event, registered yesterday afternoon, making this year larger than any Yuri’s Night except for 2011. If you’re holding an event this weekend, though, it’s not too late to register!

• At the flagship event in Los Angeles, Yuri’s Night co-founder Loretta Whitesides will join hundreds of partiers at the Station (in the W Hollywood) for a night of dancing, costumes, and space-themed swag and cocktails. Representatives from NASA, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and other organizations will be on hand with displays and scale models of the latest in futuristic space technology.
• Inside Antarctica’s South Pole Station, scientists and explorers will raise a traditional toast to Yuri from the bottom of the world.
• In Moscow, Russia, three separate events will be celebrating Yuri’s Night on the “Cosmonaut’s Day” holiday
• At the Westover Public Library in Richmond, Virginia, children and adults alike will build arts and crafts, watch space documentaries, and cap the evening off with stargazing courtesy of the Richmond Astronomical Society.
• In Strasbourg, France, students and faculty at the International Space University will be celebrating Yuri’s Night alongside the 25th anniversary of the ISU’s founding. Yuri’s Night Executive Director Dr. Ryan Kobrick will be showcasing an exhibit of historic Yuri’s Night materials, including items flown on the International Space Station.

“We’re very excited to be celebrating 51 years of human spaceflight with everyone taking part in Yuri’s Night this year,” said Yuri’s Night Executive Director Ryan Kobrick. “Whether you’re hosting an event, going to a local party or celebrating in Second Life or other virtual worlds, we hope that you can ‘Make an Impact’ in 2012 by helping others realize the importance and awesomeness of space exploration.”

Yuri’s Night will also be easier to celebrate on the Internet than ever in 2012. Events will be taking place in at least 8 “virtual worlds”, including Second Life, World of Warcraft and Star Trek Online.

Yuri’s Night fans can also tune in to a special YN show on NASA’s Third Rock Radio from 5-9 PM Central Time, watch recorded greetings from NASA Ames Director Pete Worden, Rocket Boys author Homer Hickam, and other space luminaries through the I Celebrate Yuri’s Night video project, and read the latest updates from events worldwide at Yuri’s Night Live (live.yurisnight.net).

To bring the World Space Party to the public, Yuri’s Night has partnered with many organizations throughout the world, including:

• SEDS – Students for the Exploration and Development of Space – an independent, student-based organization which promotes the exploration and development of space.
• Spacevidcast – an acclaimed weekly Internet program covering all things space and space exploration
• The National Space Society – an independent, educational, grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization
• Astronomers Without Borders – an organization that fosters understanding and goodwill across national and cultural boundaries by creating relationships through the universal appeal of astronomy.
• The Space Frontier Foundation – an advocacy organization committed to realizing the vision of a greatly expanded and permanent human presence in space.

“We’d like to thank Richard Garriott, the Musk Foundation, Homer Hickam, Dave Masten, Shasta Visions, and all of our partners and affiliates for their support of Yuri’s Night this year”, Kobrick said. “And, of course, our biggest thanks to the event organizers and partygoers who help us make Yuri’s Night the world’s biggest space party! Rock The Planet!”

About Yuri’s Night

Yuri’s Night is a global non-profit organization dedicated to hosting celebrations of humanity’s past, present and future in space on or around each April 12 in commemoration of Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space flight and the inaugural launch of the Space Shuttle. In 2011, Yuri’s Night celebrated the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight with 567 events in 75 countries on all seven continents, the International Space Station, and the Second Life virtual world, including events in Tokyo, New York City, Moscow and at the NASA Ames Research Center.

###

Not every Yuri’s Night party is on the 12th! Though most will be held tomorrow, April 12, some will be held Friday, Saturday or even later. Check the map at the top of the Yuri’s Night home page (or the Party List at http://yurisnight.net/partylist/)

It’s not too late to register your own party! If there isn’t an event near you, get some friends together for an evening of space movies, conversation, or whatever you come up with. Take a look at the Yuri’s Night videos available on our Resources Page (http://yurisnight.net/party-resources/) or tune in to the special YN programming on NASA’s Third Rock Radio (http://www.rfcmedia.com/thirdrockradio/) from 6-10 PM Eastern time. If you’re celebrating space, you’re having a Yuri’s Night party–just don’t forget to register.

Follow updates from around the world on Yuri’s Night Live! Email your photos, videos and stories from Yuri’s Night to submit2@yurisnight.net. Updates from around the world will be posted to Yuri’s Night Live at http://live.yurisnight.net/.

Stay tuned to the Yuri’s Night Blog, Facebook, Twitter and YN Live as we keep you updated through the next few days of events. Rock The Planet!

On the eve of Yuri’s Night, two more updates on celebrating online!

First, Yuri’s Night is pleased to team up with I Dream Of Space for a special online promotion. I Dream of Space is currently selling a series of high-quality, space-themed digital images, suitable for poster-size printing… and the chance to go to space! Each purchase of a “Gold”-level poster gives the purchaser one entry into the I Dream of Space online sales promotion, which will select one lucky recipient as the winner of a ticket on a commercial space flight. (See http://www.idreamofspace.com/faq/ for more details on the promotion.)

If one digital poster isn’t enough, try out the “Unobtainium”-level, which gives you five images and five entries into the promotion. Half of all profits will go to Yuri’s Night, and these posters will only be sold until May 12th, so get your hands on them today!

Gold-level poster available at: http://idreamofspace.myshopify.com/products/yurisnightdesktopbackgroundofamazingness
Unobtainium-level posters available at: http://idreamofspace.myshopify.com/collections/frontpage/products/unobtaniumpackftw

Since you’re going to be online anyway while you purchase your posters, don’t forget to check out our list of Yuri’s Night virtual events! Whether you’re listening to Third Rock Radio, exploring the world of Second Life, raiding in World of Warcraft, or relaxing at Quark’s Bar in Star Trek Online, there’s a way for you to celebrate Yuri’s Night with virtual participants from around the world. See you there!

Starting at 6:07 UT (2:07 ET), Riley will be answering questions about First Orbit from his username (@alifeofriley) while the film streams live on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/firstorbit, 51 years to the minute of Gagarin’s original flight. At the same time, Twitter users all around the world will be livetweeting the mission audio transcript in their native languages. Transcripts for 30 different languages are available; to join in, take a look at the guidelines on http://www.firstorbit.org/yuri-tweet.

For full details, visit http://www.cisionwire.com/sister/r/yuri-gagarin-first-orbit-film-to-create-a-global-social-media-experience-through-twitter-and-youtube,c9244060. Help us Rock The Planet in 2012 by making Gagarin’s flight heard on Twitter!

To kick off the Yuri’s Night DC celebrations, the Arlington, VA, based Zero Gravity Corporation (ZERO-G) took a couple of Yuri’s Night shirts on a recent Weightless Experience aboard the company’s specially-modified Boeing 727 aircraft.

Parabolic flight coaches Travis and Krysta Cossitt were eager to show off their t-shirts and get everyone on the flight excited for Yuri’s Night with stickers and temporary tattoos.

ZERO-G will be celebrating at the Science Club in Washington, DC ,this year, bringing tons of cool spacey swag along with them.  Events will include space trivia contests, LEGO spaceship building competitions, prizes from ThinkGeek.com, and music from One Love Massive!

After the party in DC, ZERO-G will be heading to Ft. Lauderdale for their 300th commercial flight on April 14th.  Where will YOU be celebrating Yuri’s Night?? [I'll be on ZG-300--and you could be too! ~Tim]

To send your photos to Yuri’s Night Flashback, or to just update the world about Yuri’s Night in your hometown, please go to live.yurisnight.net and follow the submission instructions. Rock The Planet!