Iraqi children play with a ball on a street blocked with burning tyres, amid a general strike in the southern city of Basra, on November 25, 2019. The demonstrations rocking the capital and Shiite-majority south since October 1 are the biggest grassroots movement the country has seen in decades. Sparked by outrage over rampant government corruption, poor services and lack of jobs, they have since gone straight to the source: calling out the ruling system as inherently flawed and in need of a total overhaul. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

The sun begins to set over this rusty beachside mansion that has been left abandoned for more than 25 years in Thailand, June 2017. A deserted beachside mansion in southern Thailand has retained its beauty – despite no one living there for more than 25 years. In June this year abandoned photographer, Dax Ward, ventured to the Prachuap Khiri-Khan Province to capture the haunting attraction on camera. (Photo by Dax Ward/Barcroft Images)

Tactics reminiscent of the early American frontier days are now being used in Vietnam. Lieutenant Commander Donald D. Sheppard, UBN, of Coronado, California, aims a flaming arrow at a bamboo hut concealing a fortified Viet Cong bunker on the banks of the Bassac River, Vietnam on December 8, 1967. (Photo by AP Photo)

Performers Roni, Liv and Becky behind the scenes at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome Circus, England. (Photo by Nick Warner/The Guardian)

People kiss before the start of the Carmelitas street party on the first day of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, February 9, 2024. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Showgirl Amy Findlay after the the rehearsals for Circus Vegas in Newcastle, Britain on July 27, 2023. (Photo by Lee Smith/Reuters)

Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren raises his trophy in celebration on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 7, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jayce Illman/Getty Images)

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.