Planet Earth
Although some believe the world will come to an end in 2012, there are still many other important dates and events to take note of this year. Reuters

Although some believe the world will come to an end in 2012, there are still many other important dates and events to take note of this year. Here are 10 to start with:

Jan. 13: First winter youth Olympics, which will be held in Austria.

Feb. 6: Celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee will begin, to mark 60 years since her accession to the British throne.

Feb. 29: Marks the 2012 leap year, with an extra day being added on to the end of the month.

May 12: The 2012 World Expo to be held in Yeosu, South Korea. Themes will include: The Living Ocean and Coast with subthemes of Preservation and Sustainable Development of the Ocean and Coast, New Resources Technology, and Creative Marine Activities.

June 6: Venus will pass between the Earth and the sun in the second and last solar transit of Venus for the century.

July 27: The Summer Olympic Games will begin in London.

Aug. 6: NASA's new Mars rover, Curiosity, is scheduled to land.

Nov. 6: U.S. presidential election.

Nov. 13: Total lunar eclipse.

Dec. 21: The Mayan calendar turns over, which has led to predictions of a possible apocalypse. According to the ancient calendar, the winter solstice marks the end of a 144,000-day cycle, which will cap a full 5,200-year cycle of creation. Some speculate that the date will bring destruction to the planet.

Dec. 31: The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change expires.

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