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)

American singer Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo performs at O2 Academy Brixton on November 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Chiaki Nozu/WireImage)

A healthcare worker dressed as Santa Claus distributes gifts to children at the Ayeyarwady Covid Centre in Mandalay, Myanmar, on December 25, 2020, Christmas Day, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP Photo)

Hemispheric color differences on Saturn's moon Rhea are apparent in this false-color view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft in this March 2, 2010 file photo. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/JPL/SSI)

Australian professional boxer Ebanie Bridges at the weigh-in ahead of their IBF World Bantamweight Title fight against Shannon O'Connell during the weigh in at Aspire, Leeds, United Kingdom on Friday, December 9, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Couldridge/Action Images via Reuters)

People in costumes are pictured during the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival on 5th Ave in New York, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)

Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Geri Horner of the Spice Girls in concert at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Timms/PA Wire)

American model Emily Ratajkowski attends Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs, New York Knicks v Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA on June 2, 2021. (Photo by Startraks Photo/Rex Features/Shutterstock)