Dancers from Kyiv and Dnipro preparing themselves in the wings for a performance at the Kyiv National Opera House on June 24, 2022. (Photo by Julian Simmonds/The Guardian)

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Miss Italia 2008 Miriam Leone appear on “Porta a Porta” in Rome, Italy on September 15, 2008. (Photo by WENN)

Roman Cervenka #10 of Czechia celebrates with the trophy and gets a beer thrown on him from his teammates during IHF Ice Hockey World Championship gold medal celebrations with fans at Old Town Square on May 27, 2024 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by RvS.Media/Monika Majer/Getty Images)

Supporters of opposition member Venancio Mondlane protest during the inauguration of the ruling Frelimo party's leader Daniel Chapo as Mozambique's newly elected President in Maputo, Mozambique on January 15, 2025. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

An injured supporter of Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo reacts outside the premises of Hotel Golf, where Gbagbo is currently being held after his arrest, in Abidjan April 11, 2011. The trial of Laurent Gbagbo on charges of crimes against humanity during post-election violence, in which around 3,000 people were killed, will begin on January 28, 2016 at the International Criminal Court. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Anthony Joshua, right, knocks down Andy Ruiz during the third round of a heavyweight championship boxing match Saturday, June 1, 2019, in New York. Ruiz won in the seventh round. (Photo by Frank Franklin II/AP Photo)

“Theyyam”. Preparation for the Theyyam performance in the surroundings of Kasaragod city. Theyyam is a popular ritual dance form of North Kerala, particularly in Kannur and Kasargod districts. The Theyyam represents a mythological, divine or heroic character. Make up of Theyyams is done by specialist. There are different types of face painting for which primarily and secondary colours are used. Therefore it is essential that the makeup man should have perfect knowledge of primary and secondary colour combinations. Sometimes, it takes several hours to paint each face. Photo location: Kasaragod, India. (Photo and caption by Rafal Ziejewski/National Geographic Photo Contest)

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)