Birds behaviour winner: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway. High on a ledge, on the coast near his home in northern Norway, Rikardsen carefully positioned an old tree branch that he hoped would make a perfect golden eagle lookout. To this, he bolted a tripod head with a camera, flashes and motion sensor attached, and built himself a hide a short distance away. From time to time, he left road‑kill carrion nearby. Very gradually – over the next three years – a golden eagle got used to the camera and started to use the branch regularly to survey the coast below. (Photo by Audun Rikardsen/2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Grand title winner: Environmental photographer of the year. The Bitter Death Of Birds by Mehdi Mohebi Pour. This photo shows the efforts of the environmental forces to collect the bodies and prevent the spread of this disease. The Miankaleh wetland is being destroyed by changes in the climate and it is my duty as a photographer to highlight these problems and create a record for history. I want to prevent the complete destruction of the wetland and the potential environmental disaster by showing the issues and threats to these beautiful natural places. (Photo by Mehdi Mohebi Pour/Environmental Photographer of the Year)

Tony North; First place, Breathing Spaces; Overall Winner; Blue Tajinaste, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. “Echium thyrsiflorum is endemic to the mountains of La Palma island – from high up, there was a magnificent view of both the caldera below, and the stars above. The Unesco La Palma biosphere reserve encompasses the entire island, with the Caldera de Taburiente containing mountains with a highest peak of 2,426 metres – the Roque de los Muchachos”. (Photo by Tony North/IGPOTY)

Champagne Taittinger Food for Celebration – Dinner with the King and Queen of Sweden. “Sverigemiddagen (the Dinner of Sweden), an annual event held at the Royal Castle in Stockholm, celebrates individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to their local communities. Invited guests are honoured for their achievements and are hosted by the King and Queen of Sweden at a grand dinner”. (Photo by Jonas Borg/Pink Lady Food Awards 2023)

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.

A woman holds a champagne bottle during New Year's celebrations in Bucharest, Romania, Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets of the Romanian capital to join parties and watch fireworks. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine, is now in its sixth year and has received over 2,500 entries. Photo: Centre of the Heart Nebula by Ivan Eder (Hungary). Situated 7500 light years away in the “W”-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, the Heart Nebula is a vast region of glowing gas, energized by a cluster of young stars at its centre. The image depicts the central region, where dust clouds are being eroded and moulded into rugged shapes by the searing cosmic radiation. (Photo by Ivan Eder)

Rolando Pujol Rodriguez photographed the Cuban raft exodus in 1994, and twenty years later Enrique de la Osa took portraits of some of the people who made it to the United States, in this story which combines archive and present day images. Here: People put the finishing touches to a makeshift boat on a rooftop before lowering it onto a truck and launching it into the Straits of Florida towards the U.S., on the last day of the 1994 Cuban raft exodus in Havana, in this September 13, 1994 file photo. (Photo by Rolando Pujol Rodriguez/Reuters)