In this Tuesday, June 4, 2019, photo, a Yamanote Line train travels above commuters walking across the crossing during evening rush hours in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Operated by the East Japan Railway Co., the Yamanote Line in Tokyo makes a loop around the center of the city, connecting 29 stations that include key stops such as Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro. A complete loop of about an hour offers scenes of Japanese daily lives. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP 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)

John Cox, far left, begins his recall campaign for California governor with “Tag”, a Kodiak brown bear, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 in Sacramento. It was the first stop for his “Meet the Beast” bus tour. (Photo by Renee C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee via AP Photo)

A woman holds a sign that reads in Spanish “Sеx education to decide, contraceptives to avoid abortion”, as she jumps with another woman as part of the Global Day of Action for access to legal, safe and free abortion, outside the parliament in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, September 28, 2021. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

A runner participates in the Santa Run 10K race in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, December 19, 2021. This is the first Santa Run since the start of the pandemic. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

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)

English actress Kate Beckinsale at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images)

A meteorite of the swarm of meteorites Perseida flies above the Ujudvar TV Tower as seen from Ujudvar, Hungary, late Friday, August 13, 2021. Perseidas, one of the brightest meteorite swarms, consist of a multitude of stellar particles which due to their high speed glow up and burn by entering Earth's atmosphere. (Photo by Gyorgy Varga/MTI via AP Photo)