A member of the United States Naval Academy freshman class wears body armor, helmet and carries a rifle through a mud-filled ditch as part of the “Wet and Sandy” challenge during the rigorous Sea Trials May 17, 2011 in Annapolis, MD. Under strict safety supervision, about 900 freshmen, or “Plebes”, faced 14 hours of 32 rigorous physical and mental challenges during the trials, a daylong, action-oriented event modeled after the Marine Corps 54-hour Crucible and the Navy's Battle Stations. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/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.

On August 31, 2012, a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. (Photo by NASA/GSFC/SDO via The Atlantic)

The Oshkosh M-ATV – MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle developed by the Oshkosh Corporation of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is designed to provide the same levels of protection as the larger and heavier previous MRAPs but with improved mobility and it is intended to replace M1114 HMMWVs. (wikipedia) (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Musafir, a pet monkey, eats sweets on a pavement in Kolkata, India, June 9, 2016. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A pitch invader takes the field during the fourth quarter in Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Raymond James Stadium on February 07, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)

Police detain a woman during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government's handling of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, near Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on July 24, 2020. Reimposed coronavirus curbs after a rise in new COVID-19 cases have prompted Israelis demanding better state aid to take to the streets in almost daily demonstrations. Public anger has also been fueled by corruption alleged against Netanyahu, who went on trial in May for bribery, fraud and breach of trust – charges he denies. (Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Members of indigenous Gurung community wearing traditional attire takes part with others in a New Year celebration ceremony known as “Tamu Lhosar” in Kathmandu on December 30, 2022. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)