The competition, which is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine, is now in its sixth year and has received over 2,500 entries. Photo: Centre of the Heart Nebula by Ivan Eder (Hungary). Situated 7500 light years away in the “W”-shaped constellation of Cassiopeia, the Heart Nebula is a vast region of glowing gas, energized by a cluster of young stars at its centre. The image depicts the central region, where dust clouds are being eroded and moulded into rugged shapes by the searing cosmic radiation. (Photo by Ivan Eder)

Fishermen use traditional cone-shaped nets on Inle lake in Myanmar in February 2022. The men steer their boats with an oar that they control with their feet. They throw the net into the water and push it down so it sinks to the bottom, then drag it back to the surface with the fish trapped inside. (Photo by Alahattin Kanlioglu/Solent News)

Activists from the climate action group Ocean Rebellion perform a stunt outside The Baltic Exchange building, in London, Britain on November 16, 2020. (Photo by Henry Nicholls/Reuters)

People smoke marijuana in front of the Brandenburg Gate during the 'Smoke-In' event in Berlin, Germany, Monday, April 1, 2024. Starting 1 April, Germany has legalised cannabis for personal use. As per the new law, Adults aged 18 and over will be allowed to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

“Microscope images forge an extraordinary bond between science and art, said Hidenao Tsuchiya, Olympus America's Vice President and General Manager for the Scientific Equipment Group. We founded this competition to focus on the fascinating stories coming out of today's life science research laboratories. The thousands of images that people have shared with the competition over the years reflect some of the most exciting work going on in research today – work that can help shed light on the living universe and ultimately save lives. We look at BioScapes and these beautiful images as sources of education and inspiration to us and the world”. – OlympusBioScapes

Photo: Pretarsus of the third leg of a female drone fly (Eristalis tenax), ventral view, by Dr. Jan Michels, Institute of Zoology, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Germany. (Photo by Olympus BioScapes)

Models present creations from the SGM ART MOUSE JI during the China Fashion Week in Beijing, China, 25 October 2020. The fashion​ event runs from 24 October to 01 November. (Photo by Wu Hong/EPA/EFE)

Shoppers walk past crocodiles for sale at a market in Bata on February 3, 2015. Markets in Equatorial Guinea sell a variety of animals including pangolins, monkeys and crocodiles as food. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

A skier in a festive costume attempts to cross a pool of water at the foot of a ski slope while competing in the annual Gornoluzhnik amateur event to mark the end of the ski season at the Bobrovy Log ski resort in the suburbs of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, April 14, 2019. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)