An Indian Sikh devotee takes a dip in the holy sarover (water tank) at the Golden Temple on the eve of “Ghallughara Diwas”, the 29th Anniversary of Operation Bluestar, in Amritsar on June 5, 2013. The 1984 assault on the Golden Temple complex by the Indian army was conducted in an attempt to arrest separatists Sikh leader Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militant followers who had initiated a movement for a separate Sikh state. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/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)

Racegoers shelter from the rain as they attend on the second day of the Grand National Festival horse race meeting at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, north-west England, on April 14, 2023. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

Samuel (9), Leah (10) and Matthew Flynn (7), from Baldoyle, Dublin, enjoying the fine weather on Burrow Beach in Sutton, Ireland on June 2, 2023. (Photo by Tom Honan for The Irish Times)

Professional wrestlers Helen Charlotte Campbell and Dark Sheik (R) compete during an evening of wrestling entertainment, presented by promoter “TNT Extreme Wrestling'” in Liverpool, northern England, on September 17, 2023. The event pitted UK-based wrestlers representing 'TNT Extreme Wrestling' against US wrestlers from “Game Changer Wrestling” and featured Helen Charlotte Campbell versus Dark Sheik, which is understood to be the first singles wrestling match between binary trans women in the UK. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP Photo)

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)

People pose for a photo with certificates after swimming in the ocean for the 121st annual Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day plunge at Coney Island beach in the Brooklyn borough of New York, New York, USA, 01 January 2024. (Photo by Sarah Yenesel/EPA)

A man dressed as a bear and wearing a protective face mask amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) stands in front of a fountain in central Kyiv, Ukraine on August 11, 2020. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)