Clash of the storms, New Mexico, US by Camelia Czuchnicki. “A clash between two storm cells in New Mexico, US, each with its own rotating updraft. The curved striations of the oldest noticeable against the new bubbling convection of the newer. It was a fantastic sight to watch and it’s the rarity of such scenes that keep drawing me back to the US Plains each year”. (Photo by Camelia Czuchnicki/Weather Photographer of the Year 2016)

A female soldier from the honour guards prepares for a welcoming ceremony for Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, October 18, 2016. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

A girl performs martial arts during a function to mark International Women's Day at a school in Hyderabad, India, on March 7, 2014. (Photo by Mahesh Kumar A./Associated Press)

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, 36, who was an illegal logger turned forest protector poses at Phong Nha National Park, Quang Binh province, Vietnam on April 8, 2022. (Photo by Hoang Trung/Reuters)

“Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in Ukraine and Southern Russia. They inhabited sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins, and played an important role in the historical development of both Ukraine and Russia”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Кубанский казачий хор (Kuban Cossack chorus) - Розпрягайте, хлопцi, коней (Unharness The Horses, Guys!) – Ukrainian

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.

Flames rage through a pile of tires at the tire dump of Sesena in Toledo, Spain, 13 May 2016. The tire dump reportedly contains over 100,000 tons of tires and reaches to the neighbouring town of Valdemoro in Madrid. According to local authorities, the fire was apparently deliberately started as it had been raining till midnight and the fire started early 13 May 2016 at a small spot in Valdemoro. (Photo by Ismael Herrero/EPA)