The world that we see with our eyes is just one view of reality, but with the help of a microscope, another almost invisible universe can be brought into it.
Photographs taken with powerful lenses reveal living forms and objects that no one has ever seen before. At the same time, such pictures are often incredibly beautiful, colorful and artistic. The Nikon Small World competition regularly celebrates the most amazing microscope photographs, and in 2016 the jury has to make a tough choice from over 2,000 photographs from 70 countries. Nikon will announce the winners on October 19 via their Instagram account.
Until then, you can take a look at the best photos sent to the competition - and for the most liked.
Red spotted gold beetle
Jumping spider eyes
Yousef Al Habshi/Nikon Small World
slime molds
Jose Almodovar/Nikon Small World
zebrafish fin
Leonardo Andrade/Nikon Small World
Soap solution based on glycerin
Haris Antonopoulos/Nikon Small World
Ammonite Shell
Norm Barker/Nikon Small World
Zooplankton meticulously sorted by hand in Victorian style
Stefano Barone/Nikon Small World
Microcrystalline test for oxycodone
Kelly Brinsko/Nikon Small World
Jumping beetle and scales of parsley
Rudolf Buchi/Nikon Small World
The division process of human HeLa cells
Dylan Burnette/Nikon Small World
Head of a zebrafish larva
Chen Chen Hui/Nikon Small World
copper crystals
Honorio Cocera-La Parra/Nikon Small World
Human brain cells isolated from embryonic stem cells
Gist F. Croft, Lauren Pietilla, Stephanie Tse, Szilvia Galgoczi, Maria Fenner, Ali H. Brivanlou/Nikon Small World
Mold growing on cow dung
Michael Crutchley/Nikon Small World
Butterfly wing scales
View of the veins in the mouse paw
Evan Darling/Nikon Small World
Ciliate tintinnida from marine plankton of the Indian Ocean
John Dolan/Nikon Small World
Spoon-legged hairy caterpillar grasping a small plant
James Dorey/Nikon Small World
Orange ladybug head
Geir Drange/Nikon Small World
Ant pupae
Geir Drange/Nikon Small World
Image of a fossil diatom composited from 20 individual photographs
Frank Fox/Nikon Small World
mullein flower
Karl Gaff/Nikon Small World
green blowfly
Erno Endre Gergley/Nikon Small World
Streams created by an 8-week-old starfish larva
William Gilpin, Vivek N. Prakash, Manu Prakash/Nikon Small World
Butterfly scales
Seaweed
Anne Gleich/Nikon Small World
Air bubbles in tequila
James Hayden/Nikon Small World
Rubber covered with thin glass
James Hedrick/Nikon Small World
Crystals of beta-alanine and taurine
Matt Inman/Nikon Small World
Grizzly cultured fat cells
Heiko T. Jansen, Jamie Gehring, Kimberly Rigano, Charles Robbins/Nikon Small World
deep sea crustacean
Tomonari Kaji/Nikon Small World
Mouse retinal ganglion cells
Mouse retina, flat
Keunyoung Kim/Nikon Small World
Central part of a daisy
Peter Kinchington/Nikon Small World
Espresso coffee crystals
Vin Kitayama and Sanae Kitayama/Nikon Small World
Stamens of the black elder flower
Laurie Knight/Nikon Small World
Moss spore capsule
Henri Koskinen/Nikon Small World
Tail of a small shrimp
Charles Krebs/Nikon Small World
cross section of lily of the valley
Falco Kruger/Nikon Small World
The medulla of a transgenic mouse in 3D
Hei Ming Lai and Dr. Wutian Wu/Nikon Small World
fruit fly egg
Christopher Large/Nikon Small World
mosquito larva
Edwin Lee/Nikon Small World
Region of the cerebellum in the brain
Marc Leushacke/Nikon Small World
Surface of a mouse embryonic kidney
Nils Lindstrom/Nikon Small World
Cross section of barley stem
Stephen Lowry/Nikon Small World
Silaginella leaves
Crystals of salicin, a pain reliever extracted from willow bark
David Maitland/Nikon Small World
Castille seeds
Seed of dense corydalis
David Millard/Nikon Small World
Dione heliconid butterfly egg
David Millard/Nikon Small World
Tail gills of dragonfly larvae
Marek Mis/Nikon Small World
Air bubbles from molten crystals of ascorbic acid
Marek Mis/Nikon Small World
Paddle leg
Marek Mis/Nikon Small World
Polished Teepee Canyon Agate Surface
Douglas L. Moore/Nikon Small World
Frontonium ciliate cell showing ingested food, cilia, "mouth" and trichocysts.
Rogelio Moreno Gill/Nikon Small World
Algae cells
water mite
Jacek Myslowski/Nikon Small World
Section of the cerebellum of the rat brain
Barbara Orsolits/Nikon Small World
Section of the hippocampus of the brain
Jennifer Peters/Nikon Small World
Alpine midge
Goatbeard flower seeds
Csaba Pinter/Nikon Small World
Venomous centipede fangs
Walter Piorkowski/Nikon Small World
Cross section of reinforced carbon fiber
Peter Pook/Nikon Small World
Blooming buds of flowers
Nathanael Prunet/Nikon Small World
Mouse embryos at an early stage
Gaelle Recher, M. Goolam, M. Zernicka-Goetz/Nikon Small World
Part of a plant stem
Edgar Javier Rincon/Nikon Small World
Ktyri
Jan Rosenboom/Nikon Small World
Howlioda fish
Alvaro Roura/Nikon Small World
Crystals of diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
Adolfo Ruiz De Segovia/Nikon Small World
4 day old zebrafish embryo
Oscar Ruiz/Nikon Small World
These rare and incredible photos should be seen by everyone! Each of them is phenomenal in its own way - from the portrait of Hitler before he trimmed his mustache, and ending with an eclipse during sunset. Take a look for yourself:
1. This is what Hitler's mustache looked like before he had to cut it to put on a gas mask:
2. This is not a collage, but one ordinary photo that was not even processed in Photoshop:
3. This is what a plastic bottle looks like before it is filled with compressed air:
4. This artistic "loaf" (the technique is actually called "murrine") by Lauren Stump is made of glass and each "slice" costs $5,000:
5. These coins are not glued, but simply carefully folded:
6. Eclipse and sunset at the same time:
7. These perfect pyrite cubes formed naturally in nature:
8. This is what a child's skull looks like before his baby teeth fall out:
9. Paving Machine:
10. How a person sees the world and how a cat sees it:
11. Fukang meteorite, a pallasite found in China in 2000:
12. A 3D-printed plaster that uses ultrasound to fuse bones 38% faster:
13. Lenticular cloud that looks like a UFO:
14. Marlon Brando before and after applying makeup for The Godfather:
15. Black Liverfish can eat prey 10 times its size:
16. Manhattan, New York in 1609 and now:
17. This is what the inside of a Patek Philippe watch looks like, the manufacturer best watches in the world:
18. US-Mexican Wall in Algodon Sand Dunes:
19. Incredibly accurate CT scanner "Revolution CT" from General Electrics Corporation:
20. Perfect geometry in a head of cabbage:
21. This is what a million colors look like in one picture (each pixel is a different color):
22. Underwater cable in section:
23. Spacecraft launch, view from the ISS:
Our world is full of such amazing things that we could not even imagine, but thanks to talented photographers who are there at the right time, we have a wonderful opportunity to see what a fantastically beautiful world we live in. Let's enjoy these incredible shots of the most exciting moments and discoveries together, which will surely come as a real surprise to many.
The tortoise saddled the jellyfish and now rides on it.
The highest tree on the planet is Hyperion. Its height reaches 115.6 meters, and its age is approximately 800 years.
A man holds the Fukang meteorite, a 4.5 billion-year-old precious gift from the universe.
This is how astronauts in space see the eclipse.
A flock of fire-lit birds against a background of black smoke.
A Japanese temple in Kyoto has been transformed into a fabulous place after a snowfall.
Shadows cast by clouds on the Earth.
A kayaker swims next to burning lava flowing into the ocean (Hawaii).
To date, this is the best image quality that has been able to capture the Orion Nebula.
Opal photo. It seems as if dawn is born inside the stone.
Thor's well, called the "gates to the underworld" (USA, Oregon).
Ultraviolet image of the Sun.
This is the clearest photograph of Mercury ever taken.
All the beauty and power of a thunderstorm captured in one shot.
Macro image of the iris of the human eye.
A bizarre pattern of ice on the pond.
For 20 years this monk prayed in the same place.
In a small piece of amber, a well-preserved fragment of the tail of a feathered theropod dinosaur, whose age was about 99 million years, was found. Below is a photo of the same piece.
This amazing fiery cloud arose over Portugal and immediately received the name "Hand of God".
Sahara desert covered with snow. The last time this could be observed 37 years ago.
How to disable ads on Android: remove pop-up ads
The Russian received a term and a million fine for "piracy Negative consequences of the law
Identification of key factors
The criteria for classifying organizations and individual entrepreneurs as small and medium-sized businesses have changed
See what "Royalty" is in other dictionaries Pitfalls of legislation