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.

A mahout bathes his elephant in the river Sabarmati on a hot summer day in Ahmedabad, India May 21, 2017. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

An Afghan girl stand in the doorway of her home in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

Balinese tries to see partial phase of hybrid solar eclipse using welding glass at Sanur Beach in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on April 20, 2023. Hybrid solar eclipse is when annular and total eclipse occurs on its path the across eastern Indonesian islands. However, in central and western part of Indonesia only partial eclipse phase can be observed. (Photo by Johannes P. Christo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In this July 15, 2015 photo, Nepalese amputee victims Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, both 8, share a single pair of shoes at the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. After suffering serious leg wounds in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake that killed and injured thousands, both girls were brought to the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, to receive single leg amputations. Following their surgeries, Nirmala's relentless cheerfulness drew a still very depressed Khendo close and both found an inseparable friendship which has helped their emotional wounds heal. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)

Indian actress Ananya Panday poses for pictures on the red carpet on the day of the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, India, on July 12, 2024. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

A woman wearing a burqa begs on a street in Mazar-i-Sharif on December 22, 2021. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

Female body builders flex their muscles as they compete in the 2nd Women Sports Model contest in Guwahati on April 2, 2023. (Photo by Biju Boro/AFP Photo)