Each year Nikon Small World recognizes the excellence of photography taken under the microscope. The contest showcases the beauty and complexity of life. Anyone interested in microscopy and photography can enter the contest and in its 42nd year, Nikon Small World received 2,000 entries from 70 countries. Here: 11th Place; Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta). (Photo by Francis Sneyers/Nikon's Small World 2016)

Children sit under a crocodile based table, as they pose for photographers during a press preview of a themed auction that features the animal as artistic inspiration, entitled “Creatures Great and Small”, in London, Monday, December 15, 2014. The sale scheduled for December 17, 2014, explores animals across a diverse range of mediums and styles, from intricate carving details in 19th century furniture through to contemporary sculpture, according to Christie’s auction house. (Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Photo)

The double compound eyes of a male St. Mark's fly (Bibio marci), submitted by Dr. David Maitland from Feltwell, UK. (Dr. David Maitland)

A rare white kiwi chick is seen only days after being hatched on May 22, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand. The all-white kiwi, named “Manukura” is suspected to be the first white chick born in captivity. The chick is the thirteenth of fourteen baby kiwis hatched at the wildlife centre this season. (Photo by Mike Heydon/Jet Productions NZ Limited via Getty Images)

A partial Solar eclipse is seen just after sunrise over the Queens borough of New York across the East River on November 3, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Stan Honda/AFP 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)