Starting on Monday, August 12, Perseid meteors will streak across the summer sky for a couple of nights, offering casual stargazers and serious nighttime photographers a chance to capture a glimpse of the annual meteor shower. Photo: Photographer David Kingham created this composite image from 23 photos on August 12, 2012. (Photo by David Kingham)

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.

Strokkur geyser against cloudy sky at sunset. Strokkur is a fountain geyser located in a geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavík. It is one of Iceland's most famous geysers, erupting once every 6–10 minutes. Its usual height is 15–20 m, although it can sometimes erupt up to 40 m high. (Photo by Teatsche Dijkhuis/Getty Images/EyeEm)

Kenyan riot police officers raise batons over a man during a demonstration of Kenya's opposition supporters in Nairobi, on May 16, 2016. Opposition protestors led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga gathered outside the Indepedent Electoral and Boundaries Comission building to demand the dismissal of IEBC commissioners, after alleged bias towards the ruling Jubillee Alliance Party. (Photo by Carl De Souza/AFP Photo)

Woolland Woods, Dorset. Landscape photographer of the year 2020. “Taken in spring of 2018 in a wooded area close to Milborne St Andrew in Dorset, this was the third visit to the area in a matter of days. On the previous days, both devoid of morning mists, the light had been harsh and unappealing but the third day delivered stunning conditions with mist swirling through the trees. The low shooting position allowed more emphasis to be placed on the wild garlic and pathway”. (Photo by Chris Frost/UK Landscape Photographer of the Year 2020)

“The Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It is the only extant species of the genus Dicerorhinus. It is the smallest rhinoceros, standing about 120–145 centimetres (3.9–4.76 ft) high at the shoulder, with a body length of 250 centimetres (8.2 ft) and weight of 500–800 kilograms (1,100–1,800 lb). Like the African species, it has two horns; the larger is the nasal horn, typically 15–25 centimetres (5.9–9.8 in), while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of reddish-brown hair covers most of the Sumatran Rhino's body”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Emi, a Sumatran rhinoceros lies in the mud with her three-week-old female calf at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden August 19, 2004 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Emi made history by becoming the first Sumatran rhino to produce two calves in captivity. (Photo by Mike Simons/Getty Images)

The newly-discovered gaseous planet Kepler-16b orbits it's two stars. NASA's Kepler Mission discoverd the world orbiting two Stars, the larger a K dwarf and the smaller a red dwarf. (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle via Getty Images)

A sledding dog is covered in ice after spending the night in the open air with his musher at the polar base of Val-Cenis, as they ready for the next stage of the 12th edition of “La Grande Odyssee” sledding race across the Alps on January 17, 2016 in Val Cenis Lanslevillard. (Photo by Jean-Philippe Ksiazek/AFP Photo)