A woman dressed up for Halloween travels on a Metro train in São Paulo, Brazil on October 30, 2017. (Photo by Cris Faga/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Determination: silver. Adam Pelech (No 3) of the New York Islanders and Brian Boyle of the Florida Panthers crash the boards during their game at Barclays Center in New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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)

Indian ivory furniture legs in the shape of a goddess from the first century AD are displayed in the 'Afghanistan Crossroads of the Ancient World' exhibition at The British Museum on March 1, 2011 in London, England. Displaying treasures that were in great danger during the years of civil war and Taliban rule, these surviving artifacts reveal Afghanistan's ancient culture, its fragility and its remarkable place in world history. The exhibition opens to the public on March 3 and runs until July 3, 2011. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images). LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 01

A dejected German Grenadier carrying a machine gun on his shoulder in front of a building on fire during the German retreat in Russia. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1944

James Castrission, “Cas” and Justin Jones “Jonesy” ski across an ice staking rink with two “You Can” patients on August 2, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. In 75 days, the Aussie adventure pair will attempt to cross 2,200 kilometres of Antarctic ice to the South Pole and back on foot to raise money for youth with cancer. The journey will require the two to trek with all the supplies for approximately three months of walking. Cas and Jonesy became the first to kayak unassisted over 3,300 kilometres from New Zealand to Australia in 2008. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

A woman carries her child, both wearing traditional red clothes celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok February 19, 2015. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A participant, riding a horse and dressed as a knight, presents flowers to women during an event marking Valentine's Day in central Moscow, Russia, February 14, 2016. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)