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.

Lightning strikes the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in downtown on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A devotee sits with lighted oil lamps while offering prayers during the “Dashain”, Hinduism's biggest religious festival in Bhaktapur October 3, 2014. Hindus in Nepal celebrate victory over evil during the festival by flying kites, feasting, playing swings, sacrificing animals and worshipping the Goddess Durga as well as other gods and goddess as part of celebrations held throughout the country. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A woman walks through flood water during heavy downpour at a street in Genoa, Italy, 10 October 2014. At least one person died due to flooding after heavy rains caused the Bisagno river, which runs through Genoa city to overflow. Part of the city was in black-out with flooded streets and parked cars dragged away by the water's force. (Photo by Luca Zennaro/EPA)

A visitor walks inside the initiation well at Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra October 6, 2014. Sintra became the first centre of European Romantic architecture in the 19th century, which influenced the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe. It was classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995. Its monuments are visited by more than 1.5 million of tourists every year, according to local media. (Photo by Rafael Marchante/Reuters)

Kenyan women protest for the right to wear whichever clothes they want, at a demonstration in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Monday, November 17, 2014. A recent incident in which a mob of men surrounded a woman and tore her clothes off, leaving her naked on the street in front of a bus stop after alleging that she was improperly dressed, is one of several such videos that have surfaced online in recent days leading to a groundswell of anger that on Monday prompted around 1000 demonstrators, including a number of men supporting the women's cause, to march through the capital and protest online using the hashtag #MyDressMyChoice. (Photo by Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

A couple chats at a park during sunset in Chihuahua November 15, 2014. (Photo by Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters)

Finding just the right spot above the clouds at Camp 1 on Ama Dablam, Danuru Sherpa uses his iPhone to catch up with friends and family. Even at 18,500 feet (5,654 meters), climbers here can check their email and other dispatches from the world below. (Photo by Aaron Huey/National Geographic)