A woman walks past graffiti in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Graffiti artists have been trying to re-engage disillusioned youth in a debate about the country's latest wave of political turmoil. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP 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)

In this June 23, 2015 photo, Ashaninka Indian beauty contestants pose for a photo with members of a visiting music group, hired to perform during the annual founding anniversary festivities, in Otari Nativo, Pichari, Peru. The contestants wear the simple brown dresses of the Ashaninka woman, their faces dotted in a traditional design with a red dye extracted from a spice called achiote. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque, during the annual haj pilgrimage in Mecca September 30, 2014. (Photo by Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

The 21-year-old UK Love Island’s star Rebecca Gormley stunned in a plunging crop top during a shopping trip in Newcastle, England on March 23, 2020. (Photo by Backgrid UK)

The former Golf Channel and Fox Sports host, golf influencer Holly Sonders is seen on November 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by joce zerojack/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

American singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson is seen at the “Debbie Gibson's Love Song” show at 54 Below on February 08, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

English media personality and model Katie Price during a photoshoot in Ibiza for upcoming calendar, on Thursday, April 11, 2019. (Photo by GTres/Splash News and Pictures)