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.

Andrew Parkinson, animal behaviour category winner: Crepuscular Contentment, Derbyshire. “In 15 years of working with badgers I’ve never seen a badger sit out in the open to have a scratch. I was sat concealed behind a tree and downwind so it was especially nice that the badger had his back to me, demonstrating just how inconspicuous and inconsequential my presence was”. (Photo by Andrew Parkinson/British Wildlife Photography Awards 2017)

A Student of Yuba Pratibha School, wearing a face shield and masks at school during a coronavirus pandemic in Kathmandu, Nepal, 26 November 2020. The head Teacher of Yuba Pratibha School, Yanga Raj Dahal, started to conduct classes for students, who can’t afford and attend online classes, with strict sanitary regime, providing also free face masks and shields for students. However majority of schools have been conducting online classes in Nepal from 19 March 2020 as part of precautionary measures against the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)

Sabine Marcelis stands beside her project “RA” during The Edition III at Pyramids of Giza, in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt on October 26, 2023. (Photo by Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)

People are seen at Avalon Beach on December 18, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. A cluster of Covid-19 cases on the northern beaches of Sydney has grown to 28, prompting NSW health officials to urge residents of affected suburbs to stay home. Traffic at Sydney Airport has increased as people rush to leave the city with several states imposing quarantine restrictions for New South Wales residents. (Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images)

A woman fills her basket with marigold flowers, used to make garlands and offer prayers, as she plucks them before selling to the market for the Tihar festival, also called Diwali, in Kathmandu, Nepal on October 25, 2019. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Reflected in an ornament, a reporter takes a photo of the White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room during a media preview of the holiday decor at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 29, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

A view of the fireworks during the Edge at Hudson Yard's 4th of July Celebration at Edge at Hudson Yards on July 04, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Edge at Hudson Yards)