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)

Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello arrives at iHeartRadio's Z100 Jingle Ball 2019 at Madison Square Garden on December 13, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

English actress Florence Pugh attends the 13th Governors Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 19, 2022. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

American actress Liza Koshy lies on the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)

This image released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures shows Ana de Armas in a scene from “No Time To Die”. (Photo by Nicola Dove/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures via AP Photo)

American rapper Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, known professionally as Doja Cat, says “alright” before declaring she's quitting music in the last decade of March 2022. (Photo by dojacat/Instagram)

After being shunned for years, American actress Demi Moore is back in horror movie The Substance, which has stunned viewers with its shocking blood, gore and nudity. (Photo by Interview Magazine's September 2024)

Kendall Jenner (R) attends Casamigos Halloween party at CATCH Las Vegas at ARIA Resort & Casino on October 27, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Casamigos)