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 stunning variety selected by Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer and breeder, from several traditional corn varieties. Given to NS/S by one of his students, Greg Schoen. Produces a diversity of gorgeous translucent, jewel-colored ears, each one unique. A popcorn, the kernels may be ground into cornmeal or popped. This corn became an Internet sensation in 2012.

American artist Kim Keever did new abstract creations for his exhibition “Across the Volumes” at the Waterhouse & Dodd in April 2014. From a mixture of paint and water, kinds of colorful volutes appear in the air, under the shapes of clouds, mushrooms or jellyfishes. His work is to discover in the next part of the article.

Bao Bao the panda, one of the National Zoological Park’s cutest inhabitants in Washington, D.C., recently celebrated her first birthday on August 23rd. As part of the celebration, Bao Bao got her very own cake. The large tiered cake showcased a big number 1.

Fann Mountains are part of the western Pamir-Alay mountain system and are located in Tajikistan's Sughd Province between the Zarafshan Range to the north and the Gissar Range to the south (see map of Fann Mountains). In the east-west direction they extend from Fandarya River to Archimaydan River, and the cluster of Marguzor lakes west of Archimaydan is also included in the Fanns.

About a dozen dogs traded in their leashes for life vests Saturday for the chance to ride the waves at Jupiter beach as part of a canine surfing competition to raise money for an animal rescue group. Photo: Musso paddles in with Jengo. (Photo by Taylor Jones/The Palm Beach Post)

A CRH train is seen passing through Nanjing South Railway Station, which is part of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Line, on March 27, 2011 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. The High-Speed railway line is 1,318 kilometres long, running between Beijing and Shanghai. The line will open on June 10, 2011. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

A Palestinian female volunteers for the al- Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a militant group part of Fatah movement, stands with her weapon in this undated photo. Unlike Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the ideology of al-Aqsa is rooted in Palestinian nationalism not political Islam, and is the only Palestinian group that accepts and trains women to be “martyrs”. (Photograph by Courtney Kealy/Getty Images)