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.

“John Thomson (14 June 1837 – 29 September 1921) was a pioneering Scottish photographer, geographer and traveller. He was one of the first photographers to travel to the Far East, documenting the people, landscapes and artifacts of eastern cultures. Upon returning home, his work among the street people of London cemented his reputation, and is regarded as a classic instance of social documentary which laid the foundations for photojournalism. He went on to become a portrait photographer of High Society in Mayfair, gaining the Royal Warrant in 1881”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Ex Omnibus Driver. (Photo by John Thomson/LSE Digital Library)

A rainbow rises over flooded fields after the Rivers Thames and Churn burst their banks, in Cricklade, western England on January 3, 2024, following Storm Henk which brought strong winds and heavy rain across much of the country. (Photo by Adrian Dennis/AFP Photo)

Models present creations from the Emporio Armani Fall/Winter 2024/2025 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy on February 22, 2024. (Photo by Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters)

Papier-mache sculptures, also known as “ninots”, burn during the “Nit de la Crema” (Fire Night) of the Fallas Festival in Valencia, eastern Spain, 19 March 2024. Fallas is a fortnight-long fiesta in which installations of parodic papier-mache, cardboard, and wooden sculptures are traditionally burnt every year on the last day of the event in the so-called “Crema” to end the festivities. (Photo by Biel Alino/EPA/EFE)

Sunrise in the New Forest near Lyndhurst in Hampshire, UK this morning, August 15, 2024. (Photo by Cenk Albayrak-Touye/Picture Exclusive)

Actress Boquita Almonte smashes an old cell phone on “Good Riddance Day” in Times Square in New York December 28, 2014. Good Riddance Day, inspired by Latin American tradition, encourages people to shred and smash their bad memories from 2014 to start the new year fresh. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)