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)

British singer-songwriter Rita Ora wowed her fans as she stripped off her to bikini and smeared mud on her face in the second decade of April 2022. The 31-year-old, who is thought to currently be in New Zealand, looked incredible in a series of snaps taken on the beach. (Photo by Instagram)

One happy reveller smiled and gave a thumbs up to the camera in Newcastle, United Kingdom after receiving their A Level results on Tuesday, August 10, 2021. Students hit the town across the country, downing cocktails and letting their hair down after two years of studying during the pandemic. (Photo by Newcastle New Projects)

Singer Liam Payne’s girlfriend, model Maya Henry, 21, posed in a slashed red gown as she attended an event at The Ritz in the French capital on October 4, 2021. (Photo by Beretta/Sims/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

In this photograph taken on August 20, 2022 a woman dances with a child alongside the Garonne river in Toulouse, southern France. (Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP Photo)

A visitor views “Giant Pumpkin, no1” by British artist Anthea Hamilton during the Frieze Art Fair in Regents Park in London on October 12, 2022. The fair is open to the public 14–18 October. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

Models wait backstage ahead of the Carolina Herrera Fall/Winter 2023 collection show during the New York Fashion Week in New York City, U.S., February 13, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Belgian model Stella Maxwell arrives for the screening of the film “The Idol” during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters)