A horse- drawn carriage rides along the race course through the Thuringian Forest in Oberhof, Germany, 05 January 2017. Winter found its way to Saxony, Saxony- Anhalt, and Thuringia. In some regions it can get as low as negative 20 degrees overnight. (Photo by Martin Schutt/Zentralbild/DPA)

National police transport an anti-government protester detainee during a protest against Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas March 13, 2014. Venezuela's state prosecutor said on Thursday the death toll from a month of violent protests had risen to 28, after the nation's top court ordered opposition mayors to dismantle barricades set up by street protesters. State prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz, speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, also said 1,293 detainees had been released and 104 remained in custody accused of serious crimes during the anti-government demonstrations. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Tourists dressed in yukatas, a light, unlined, summer kimono made of cotton instead of the traditional silk, climb steps to visit a temple on April 27, 2016 in Kyoto, Japan. Now the seventh largest city in Japan, Kyoto was once the Imperial capital for more than one thousand years, it is now the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture and a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

The Tree Projects team spent 67 days documenting one eucalyptus regnans in the Styx valley of Tasmania. Using a combination of tree-climbing and elaborate arboreal rigging techniques, they produced an intimate portrait from an impossible perspective of one of the world’s largest individual flowering trees, which goes by several common names. These photos document the process that resulted in an extraordinary ultra high-definition photograph. Here: Haley nears the top of the tree. (Photo by Steven Pearce/The Tree Projects/The Guardian)

“The Northrop Grumman (formerly Ryan Aeronautical) RQ-4 Global Hawk (known as Tier II+ during development) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Air Force and Navy as a surveillance aircraft”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A full-scale model of The RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned plane is displayed during a presentation at PiO Exhibition Center on March 24, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

A policeman reacts during a clash with protestors during a protest against the proposed changes to France's working week and layoff practices, in Lyon, central France, Thursday, April 28, 2016. French protesters are back on the streets over proposed reforms to the country's labor rules and strikers have forced cancellations and delays at two airports serving Paris. (Photo by Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)

With its huge eyes, comical name and diminutive size, Mark R. Smith’s image of a baby Hawaiian bobtail squid can’t help but raise a smile. A curiously endearing creature, the cephalopod is just 1.5cm across, its mantle cavity bearing more than a passing resemblance to a rather natty shower cap. But it is also a beautiful example of symbiosis – nature’s version of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” – for on the underside of the squid is a light organ which houses bioluminescent bacteria. The squid offers the bacteria protection and food, while the bacteria emit a glow – a handy trait that the squid uses to offset its silhouette, helping it to evade predators in the depths below. Mark R. Smith’s entry combines several images of a Hawaiian bobtail squid with different focus lengths to create a final picture with greater depth of field than normal. (Photo by Mark R. Smith/Wellcome Images/Macroscopic Solutions)

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.