A pheasant is seen among grasses in Bursa, Turkiye on October 07, 2024. Pheasants mostly live in forested areas, thickets and wetlands. Unlike females, male pheasants have a much more remarkable structure with their long tails and feathers in bright and variable colors. Also, they feed on fruits, grains, seeds and invertebrates. (Photo by Alper Tuydes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Ruchaya Nillakan (L) and Nuttimon Sanyamast (C), same-sеx couple, attend their marriage registration event at Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on January 23, 2025. A high-profile gay couple married in Thailand on January 23 as the kingdom's same-sеx marriage law went into effect, an AFP journalist saw, among the first of hundreds expected to do so. (Photo by Chanakarn Laosarakham/AFP Photo)

Sea lion is seen among people on a beach in San Cristobal island, part of Galapagos archipelago on February 11, 2025. Located in Ecuadorone of South America's most fascinating countriesthe Galapagos National Park spans 13 main islands and numerous islets, captivating biologists, environmental scientists, and tourists with its rich ecology. (Photo by Ozge Elif Kizil/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A juvenile blackcap is recorded in the soft light of morning at Minorca, UK, a former open-cast mine near Moira in the National Forest on June 18, 2025. Dr Heather Gilbert, research and evidence manager, checks mist nets among wildflowers and young trees as part of long-term monitoring that shows bird numbers have increased by 48 per cent over 30 years. (Photo by Rod Kirkpatrick/RKP Photography)

A newly-hatched baby sea turtle makes its way into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, as part of the Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center's conservation program, at a beach near Mikhmoret north of Tel Aviv, Israel September 9, 2019. Green turtles are endangered worldwide, the World Wildlife Fund says. Among other hazards, they are threatened by hunting, human encroachment on the beaches where they nest, and pollution of their feeding grounds offshore. According to the Israeli rescue center, only about 20 female green turtles nest along the Israeli Mediterranean coast during a breeding season that usually lasts from May until August. (Photo by Amir Cohen/Reuters)

Stray dogs run at dog sanctuary Territorio de Zaguates or “Land of the Strays” in Carrizal de Alajuela, Costa Rica, April 20, 2016. In a lush, sprawling corner of Costa Rica, hundreds of dogs roam freely on a hillside – among the luckiest strays on earth. Fed, groomed and cared for by vets, more than 750 dogs rescued from the streets of Costa Rica inhabit Territorio de Zaguates or “Land of the Strays”, a pooch paradise. (Photo by Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)

South African Sangomas are wizards and witches who are supposedly chosen by their ancestors to follow a traditional training and go through a rite of passage after which they become Sangomas and can cure and help people. They are so respected and trusted that western medical authorities have actually advised the government of South Africa to develop its cooperation with Sangomas in order to improve hygiene and health among the population. (Photo by Patrick Durand/Sygma via Getty Images)

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.