Hi all

My annual Year in Review post is a little late - I usually wrap up the year before xmas but we had such a busy December that I've only now had the time to reflect on what a great year 2011 was.

So what were the highlights for IceInSpace in 2011?

As with every year, showcase astronomical events always bring the most visitors to IceInSpace - particularly the general public, and especially if the media grabs hold of it and reports about it on the various media outlets.

The four most popular astronomical events in 2011 were:

• Total Lunar Eclipse, December 10th
• Kreitz Sungrazer Lovejoy in late December
• Total Lunar Eclipse, June 6th
• Conjunction of four Planets and Moon in late April/May

Some of the most popular topics and threads on the IceInSpace Forum in 2011 were:

• Kreitz Sungrazer Lovejoy
• Total Lunar Eclipse, December 10th
• Anyone heard of PMX shipments yet?
• Base Load power
• 2011 David Malin Awards Submissions
• Taking Delivery of GSO RC12
• TC Yasi

During 2011, we passed some significant milestones, including:

• Passing 9,000 registered members in April, and 10,000 in December!
• Passing 2,000 Likes on the IceInSpace Facebook page in December
• Turning 7 years old in September
• Passing 80,000 threads and almost 800,000 posts!
• Holding our 6th IceInSpace AstroCamp (IISAC2011)

Some other interesting IceInSpace statistics for 2011 include:

• Over 1,500 new member registrations (same as 2010)
• Over 133,000 new posts (a little more than 2010)
• Over 9,000,000 page views (almost 10% more than 2010)
• Almost 2,100 sets of items have been bought and sold through the IceTrade Classifieds. Slightly less than 2010 but only just.
• 35% of people are still browsing IceInSpace using Internet Explorer, but it's only #1 by a small margin (41% last year). 2nd is Firefox with 33% (37% last year). Safari is third with 15% (10% last year) and Chrome has a nice increase to 13% (8% last year). Safari's increase is mostly thanks to the iPad and iPhone no doubt.

I'm really looking forward to what 2012 will bring, for astronomy and for IceInSpace. We've got some major astronomical events coming up, including:

• Venus Transiting Across the Sun in June
• Total Solar Eclipse in November

Both of these will generate huge interest in astronomy, including from the mainstream media. I'm hoping IceInSpace can again play a crucial role in providing information and updates to people wanting to find out about these events.

On behalf of IceInspace, Terry and I would like to thank everyone for being part of a fantastic year and a fantastic community.

All the best to you and your families.