Peruvian shamans holding a poster of Russia's President Vladimir Putin perform a ritual of predictions for the new year at Morro Solar hill in Chorrillos, Lima, Peru, December 29, 2015. The ritual is an end-of-the-year tradition and the shamans called for world peace and wished good luck for the upcoming elections in Peru and the U.S. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

Soldiers are reflected in a puddle during a military parade during the celebrations for Romania's National Day in Bucharest December 1, 2014. (Photo by Radu Sigheti/Reuters)

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)

A young Chinese girl dressed in Christmas costume, hugs a pedestrian on a street to celebrate Christmas in Nanjing city, east China's Jiangsu province, 23 December 2015. (Photo by Imaginechina/Splash News)

Mortuary workers take off their protective clothing at the entrance of a building decorated with a Christmas tree, after removing the body of person who allegedly died of COVID-19 in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, December 23, 2020. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

Rapper Destiny Nicole Frasqueri, known professionally as Princess Nokia performs during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, U.S., April 22, 2022. (Photo by Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters)

A cosplayer dressed as the actress Lucy Liu, as depicted in the animated series Futurama, poses for a photo at Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, U.S., July 23, 2022. (Photo by Bing Guan/Reuters)

People look out at the city among 30,375 square feet of mirrors at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt in New York on May 22, 2024. The Parade of Ships is seen from SUMMIT One Vanderbilt in NYC as part of the Fleet Week Celebration events. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)