A sparrow feeds its nestlings inside a hole in a building while waiting for food in Lalitpur, Nepal on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Photo by Skanda Gautam/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman looks out of the window of a house as saris, traditional clothing worn by women, are hanged out to dry in Lalitpur, Nepal on April 17, 2019. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Sunset on Monday evening, June 17, 2024 at Mudeford in Dorset, UK with a swan stretching it's wings. (Photo by Cenk Albayrak-Touye/Picture Exclusive)

A dog looks on, as dogs and humans take part in the annual Paris Sausage Walk, also known as the march of the dachshunds, in Paris, France, on November 17, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Coombs/Reuters)

A werewolf sculpture looms over an “Altadena – Not For Sale!” sign on a property destroyed by the Eaton Fire, Monday, February 17, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/AP Photo)

Manar Abu Dhabi presents its second public light art exhibition on November 17, 2025. Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism. KAWS, located at Souq Al Mina, Abu Dhabi. (Photo by Victor Besa/The National)

Reuters photographer Bobby Yip took a series of portraits of people taking part in the “Occupy Central” protests in Hong Kong, and asked them why they had joined the demonstrations. China rules Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates. The unrest is the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

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)