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.

Night lovers; Hormozgan province, Iran. “In this picture, you can see the Milky Way rising on a fascinating spring night on the Persian Gulf coast. The stunning cliffs of this area make every viewer imagine and even talk to them! The light pollution from a faraway city was quite strong, so it was a challenging post-processing process. I’m a nightscaper who tries to achieve an artistic look in my images, and in this image, I tried to convey and capture the magic of this location”. (Photo by Mohammad Hayati/Milky Way Photographer of the Year)

Children jump into the water despite strong waves after a strong downpour at Manila's bay, Philippines, Wednesday, July 17, 2019. Schools in metropolitan Manila have been suspended as Tropical Storm Danas, locally named Falcon, continue to enhance the southwest monsoon as it maintains its strength bringing heavy rains over parts of Luzon and Visayas according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

Migrants try to board a truck at Ouistreham ferry port in the hope of reaching the UK on September 12, 2018 in Ouistreham, France. After the clamp down at Calais many young migrants are seeking out new routes to the United Kingdom as stowaways on vehicles making the channel crossing by ferry from French ports. The migrants, of mostly African origin, camp out on the roadside and woodland areas as the authorities prevent the setting up of any camps. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Employee Jenny Forgie works on an orchid display at Kew Gardens in London, Thursday, February 8, 2018. The 23rd annual Orchid Festival is the first one with a Thailand theme, 66 volunteers worked on the 6,950 exhibited orchids. The festival is open from Feb. 10, 2018 until March 11, 2018. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

Actors dressed as Father Frost perform in the main building of the Domodedovo airport named after Mikhail Lomonosov in Moscow, Russia, 27 December 2021. Russians are preparing to celebrate New Year's Eve on 31 December and Christmas which is observed on 07 January, according to the Russian Orthodox Julian calendar, 13 days after Christmas on 25 December on the Gregorian calendar. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)

Artists wearing face shields perform during a ceremony held by the Bangkok National Museum to celebrate the return of two ancient relics, believed to have been stolen from Thailand about 60 years ago, from the United States, in Bangkok, Thailand on May 31, 2021. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

President Joe Biden holds a baby as he visits a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Church of the Holy Communion Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Washington. (Photo by Evan Vucci/AP Photo)