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.

“This grey adult male seal enjoys a good grin while lying on the beach”. (Photo by Michael Hutch/SplashdownDirect via Rex USA)

ESA astronaut Tim Peake posted this stunning image on his social media channels, commenting: “Station passed through magnificent aurora Australis last night”. Tim is set to return to Earth on 18 June 2016, bringing his six-month Principia mission to the ISS to an end. During his stay he performed more than 30 scientific experiments for ESA and taking part in numerous others from ESA's international partners. ESA and the UK Space Agency have partnered to develop many exciting educational activities around the Principia mission, aimed at sparking the interest of young children in science and space. (Photo by Tim Peake/ESA/NASA)

An elephant cools off at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan, 31 March 2021. Caretakers at Karachi's zoo were working to keep animals cool during a​ heatwave affecting southern Pakistan. (Photo by Shahzaib Akber/EPA/EFE)

Participants of the Cologne Pride rally pose in front of the Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, July 3, 2022. This year's Christopher Street Day (CSD) Gay Parade with thousands of demonstrators for LGBTQ rights is the first after the coronavirus pandemic to be followed by hundreds of thousands of spectators in the streets of Cologne. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

(L-R) Sofía Vergara and Heidi Klum attend Netflix's Primetime Emmy afterparty at Hilex on September 15, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Netflix)

A police officer wields his baton against a man as a punishment for defied curfew due to rise of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Nagaon District of Assam, India on May 16, 2021. (Photo by Anuwar Hazarika/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

This picture taken on October 10, 2020 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on October 11, 2020 shows the military parade during a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea at Kim Il-sung Square of Pyongyang. (Photo by KCNA via KNS/AFP Photo)