English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa performs her “Radical Optimism Tour” at Rod Laver Arena on March 23, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Naomi Rahim/Getty Images)

The M25 Fire Spinners practise their skills along the Thames path at Runnymede in Surrey, UK on February 22, 2025. (Photo by Kevin Jay/Picture Exclusive)

Broomfield Samson, a rare breed Suffolk punch, and his rider, Alison Carroll, cool off in the River Lune at Loyne Bridge near Gressingham in Lancashire, UK on May 21, 2024. (Photo by James Glossop/ The Times & Sunday Times)

“Sky burial or ritual dissection was once a common funerary practice in Tibet wherein a human corpse is cut in specific locations and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements or the mahabhuta and animals – especially to birds of prey. The location of the sky burial preparation and place of execution are understood in the Vajrayana traditions as charnel grounds. In Tibet the practice is known as jhator, which literally means, «giving alms to the birds»”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A burial master chops bones of a body to feed vultures during a celestial burial ceremony on April 19, 2006 in Dari County of Guoluo Prefecture, Qinghai Province, northwest China. Celestial burial is a traditional funeral of Tibetan people, which began in the 7th century. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A Rajasthani folk dance artist performs while standing on two glasses during the “Dhora Ri Mahak” festival in Bhopal, India, 07 January 2015. The event is being organised by the “Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya” anthropology museum. (Photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA)

A trainer tries to convince a dog to jump over an obstacle during the Dog Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, September 18, 2016. Owner of the dog park and organizer of the animal event Marco Antonio Toto says his goal is to socialize humans and their pets while celebrating sports. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

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.