A woman wearing a protective mask walks outside a church in Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, February 2, 2020. The Philippines on Sunday reported the first death of a new virus outside of China, where authorities delayed the opening of schools in the worst-hit province and tightened quarantine measures in another that allow only one family member to venture out to buy supplies. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

An Afghan burqa-clad woman carries a child as she walks along a road in Herat on October 1, 2023. (Photo by Mohsen Karimi/AFP Photo)

A child performs in the mutton bustin (sheep riding) at the rodeo performance of the 76th annual Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.

“Winter shapes, Moscow river”. Moscow river at this part is never covered by ice. When the temperature is very low it's possible to see a strong fog. Morning light and pipes of the oli factory creates a fantastic landscape. Photo location: Moscow, Russia. (Photo and caption by Sergey Rumyantsev/National Geographic Photo Contest)

An area of vegetation can be seen amongst drought effected farmland in South Australia, November 12, 2015. A pioneering Australian scheme to improve the management of water in the world's driest inhabited continent is facing its first real test as an intensifying El Nino threatens crops and builds tensions between farmers and environmentalists. An El Nino, a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, is already causing drought and other extreme weather, affecting millions of people across parts of the world, and experts warn that the intensifying weather pattern could emerge as one of the strongest on record. (Photo by David Gray/Reuters)

Mohamed Mostafa, 35, carries dyed yarns at a dye workshop in old Cairo, Egypt, March 17, 2016. Egypt's hard currency crisis and competition from modern factories in Asia and at home threaten one of the last dye workshops in Egypt. But one of its owners takes comfort in the trade's ancient resilience. Mohamed Mostafa boasts that the profession dates back 3,000 years, so it can survive anything. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) was the most popular species overall based on English language Wikipedia page views. It is the world’s largest lizard, living on the islands of Komodo, Rinca and other smaller islands, and on Flores island in Indonesia. (Photo by Eric Nathan/Alamy)