Colombian activists perform during a protest against violence towards women, on a street in Medellin, Colombia, on March 6, 2020. (Photo by Joaquín Sarmiento/AFP Photo)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)

Gold medallist Kayla DiCello of the U.S. celebrates on the podium after winning the women's all-around final alongside silver medallist Brazil's Flavia Saraiva and bronze medallist Jordan Chiles of the U.S. at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Agustin Marcarian/Reuters)

Jockeys spur buffalos during the Makepung buffalo races at Jembrana in Bali, Indonesia on October 23, 2016. Makepung is a tradition for farmers to celebrate a bumper harvest in Bali. (Photo by Kadek Raharja/Xinhua/Barcroft Images)

Bob Steele, of Jefferson, Texas, positions his bears during The Great Bear Show at the Dubuque (Iowa) County Fair on July 25, 2012. (Photo by Jessica Reilly/Telegraph Herald)

A British Spitfire and an American P-51 Mustang from Ultimate Warbird Flights take to the Northamptonshire on August 14, 2020 skies to mark the 75th anniversary of VJ Day. (Photo by Richard Pohle/The Times)

A mannequin wearing a face mask and nurse's uniform stands next to a sign supporting the NHS, stands in a field during the Covid-19 pandemic on October 06, 2020 in Northwich, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

A sifaka lemur eats leaves at the Berenty Reserve in Toliara province, Madagascar, February 15, 2022. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)