Medieval jousters Luke Binks (L) and Andrew McKinnon pose for a photograph in Sydney, Australia, August 16, 2017 during a photo call for the World Jousting Championships to take place in Sydney on September 23 and 24. (Photo by Dan Himbrechts/Reuters/AAP)

Chinese butchers catch a pig to slaughter on January 31, 2005 in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, China. (Photo by Cancan Chu/GettyImages)

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)

Aubrey Zimmermann, 9-months-old, poses for a photo with Santa at the Willow Grove Park Mall ahead of Christmas in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 3, 2021. (Photo by Hannah Beier/Reuters)

“The Supercell”. This shortlisted image by Dennis Oswald Huge farmland of was taken in south-west Oklahoma, US. (Photo by Dennis Oswald/2019 Weather Photographer of the Year/RMetS)

Dasha performs during the CMT (Country Music Television) Music Awards in Austin, Texas, U.S., April 7, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Wurm/Reuters)

Sailors pause to take a photo with characters in Times Square during “Fleet Week 2024” in New York City on May 22, 2024. (Photo by Caitlin Ochs/Reuters)

Grumpy Cat attends the “Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book” Book Event at Bookends Bookstore on October 16, 2013 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael N. Todaro/WireImage)