A Barbie cosplayer arrives for San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, on July 20, 2023. (Photo by Chris Delmas/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)

Members of Japan's idol group “Virtual Currency Girls” wearing cryptocurrency-themed masks perform in their debut stage in Tokyo, Japan, January 12, 2018. Japanese female idols have teamed up to form the ‘Virtual Currency Girls’ group to promote the knowledge of cryptocurrencies through entertainment. Each of its 8 members represents a cryptocurrency: bitcoin cash, bitcoin, ether, neo, nem, ripple, mona, and cardano. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

The Epson International Pano awards showcase the work of the best panoramic photographers from around the world. Here: “Paepalanthus at Moonlight” Veadeiros Tablelands, Brazil. (Photo by Marcio Cabral/Epson International Pano Awards 2017)

An internally displaced Afghan girl holds a child at a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan May 31, 2016. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Internally displaced Syrian children play inside a refugee camp in the Hama countryside, Syria January 1, 2016. (Photo by Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)

Dancers perform a routine at the Renault display at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing, Tuesday, April 26, 2016. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Victor Peralta from Uruguay gestures during the fourth International Tattoo Convention in Quito, September 25, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Granja/Reuters)