New Delhi: As 2012 is coming to a close, we present this year's top 10 discoveries around the world. Prepare for monster crocodiles, new animal species and another facet of the Mayan prophecy.The list of top 10 discoveries of 2012, put up by the National Geographic is based on their most popular articles.1. Dramatic Maya Temple FoundMayan civilization seems to have caught the fancy of the people this year, with enough excitement to archeologists who are studying the newly discovered Temple of the Night Sun.2. Maya Mural Contradicts DoomsdaySecond place also features Mayan civilization, this time murals that talks about doomsday. The Mayans seem to have predicted doomsday or end of world thousands of years in the future and not 2012! (Don't we already know that!!)3. Limbless Amphibians DiscoveredA mysterious group of amphibians called caecilians has been discovered. They are completely new to science4. New Species ‘Heaven' in PeruA new heaven of unknown biodiversity has been discovered in Peru's Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary.5. Nine Planet System DiscoveredSeems like that a star about 127 light years from earth may have nine orbiting planets similar to our solar system.6. Lost World in AntarcticaA new found lost world of strange deep sea species have been discovered in the hot mineral-rich hydrothermal vents in the oceans off Antarctica.7. God' Particle FoundSeparate teams working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reported that they have discovered the Higg's boson or the God particle that had been eluding physicists for a very long time. The Higg's boson held the key to our universe having mass.8. New Planet Found In Our Solar SystemAs soon as we expelled our ninth planet (Pluto) from being a planet, seems like we have discovered a new one. The elusive planet is believed to be difficult to spot even by telescopes but makes its presence felt by disturbing orbits of Kuiper belt objects.9. Sugar Found In SpaceAstronomers have discovered simple sugar molecules floating around a star about 400 light years away. Does this indicate life in other planets?10.Giant Crocodile Breaks Size Record A giant crocodile was captured alive in Philippines. It was a whopping 20.24 feet long and was suspected of attacking several people and killing two. The salt water crocodile is officially the largest in captivity according to Guinness World Records.
Updated on: December 18, 2012 21:32 IST
