Light painting on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, United Kingdom on April 25, 2023 using burning steel wool spun around on a rope sending sparks flying. (Photo by Kevin Jay/Picture Exclusive)

Nana Takano and Kaito Toyoshima, winners of the Shanghai preliminary and Asian Championship, compete in the final of the World Tango Championship final in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 27 August 2024. (Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA)

Actress Elaine C Smith grazes Siusan, the Highland cow, on Glasgow Green to mark being given the Freedom of the City of Glasgow, UK on Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

ESA astronaut Tim Peake posted this stunning image on his social media channels, commenting: “Station passed through magnificent aurora Australis last night”. Tim is set to return to Earth on 18 June 2016, bringing his six-month Principia mission to the ISS to an end. During his stay he performed more than 30 scientific experiments for ESA and taking part in numerous others from ESA's international partners. ESA and the UK Space Agency have partnered to develop many exciting educational activities around the Principia mission, aimed at sparking the interest of young children in science and space. (Photo by Tim Peake/ESA/NASA)

A ballet dancer brushes on blush as she prepares for a street ballet performance in Mexico City, Saturday, July 28, 2018. In this sprawling megalopolis notorious for its clogged streets, a theater company sent out tutu-clad dancers out to delight motorists at snarled intersections with snippets from ballet classics like “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake” all in the 58 seconds it takes for the light to go from red to green. (Photo by Emilio Espejel/AP Photo)

Vladimir Putin shows a hold to a young judo wrestler at the Regional Judo Center at the Arena Sports Complex in the Siberian city of Kemerovo on January 24, 2012, during his visit to the region. Putin is known for his passion for judo, in which he has a black belt. (Photo by AFP Photo/STR)

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.