Soap Bubble Structures by Kym Cox. Bubbles optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This phenomenon makes them a useful tool in many areas of research, in particular, materials science and “packing” – how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom, which interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst. (Photo by Kym Cox/2019 Science Photographer of the Year/RPS)

A young cholita from “Warmi Empollerada” project is portrayed emulating to fly with an umbrella during the sunset at the Salar de Uyuni (Uyuni Salt Flats), southwestern Bolivia, on June 25, 2023. The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat and a top tourist destination in Bolivia and South America. (Photo by Marcelo Perez Del Carpio/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Workers attach a hat to a pinata depicting the drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman at a workshop in Reynosa, July 21, 2015. Guzman broke out of Mexico's top maximum security prison through a tunnel built into his cell earlier this month. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/Reuters)

The Royal Observatory just announced its Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2013 winners. Australian photographer Mark Gee was chosen among a thousand amateur and professional photographers around the globe to win the top title. His work is part of an exhibition of the winning photographers, which opened on Sept. 19 at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The Royal Observatory shared with us the winners and notable mentions of the competition. Their descriptions of the prizewinners can be found below the images.

British designer Alex Chinneck created the installation - called From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes - by removing the facade of a detached four-storey house that had been derelict for eleven years and replacing it with a brand new frontage that leaves the crumbling top storey exposed, then curves outwards so the bottom section lies flat in front of the house.

Dargavs is a small necropolis outside the village of Dargavs in North Ossetia-Alania. It comprises 99 different tombs and crypts. It is often called city of the dead. Some sources say the oldest of the crypts dates back to the 12th century, though others say the oldest crypt dates back to 14th century and some say it dates to the 16th century. At the back of the complex there is a tower, though the top of it is destroyed.

“Born in London in 1969 Robert has had a passion for photography since the age of 14. After studying photography at Blackpool and Flyde College he undertook and completed a personal project, which went on to be published into a book called ‘One, Images of a Goalkeeping Season’. Robert has been commissioned for editorial and advertising projects by client based throughout Europe and the U.S. and undertakes commissions for many of the top advertising agencies”. – Tim Mitchell

A pedestrian walks by an Apple Store following an announcement that Apple has become the world's most valuable brand on May 9, 2011 in San Francisco, California. In a report released by London based Millward Brown, Apple Inc. has surpassed Google to claim the top spot in a global ranking of brand value this year with an estimated value of more than $153 billion up 84 percent from last year. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)