We're still a ways from the end of the year (even though there are plenty of reasons for it to end now), but some traditional photography competitions are wrapping up, and one of our favorites has just announced its winners. I'm referring to the 2020 edition of Nikon Small World, which celebrates the spectacular art of photomicrography. Below is the Top 20.

In its 46th edition, the Nikon Small World competition continues to bring together and celebrate the best in photomicrography from around the world. This unique blend of art and science lets us see things that would otherwise completely escape our senses—tiny universes filled with stunning colors and patterns. This year's first prize went to Daniel Castranova and Bakary Samasa for an image captured in the lab of Dr. Brant Weinstein at the National Institutes of Health. But I promise you, every single entry in this Top 20 deserves your attention. The quality is exceptional, and we can't wait to see what the 2021 edition brings.

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The Top 20 Photomicrographs

Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Embryo of «Carollia perspicillata» (Dr. Dorit Hockman, Dr. Vanessa Chong-Morrison)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Development of Amphiprion percula embryos (Daniel Knop)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Scales, bones and lymphatic system of a zebrafish (Daniel Castranova, Dr. Brant M. Weinstein, Bakary Samasa)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
The tongue of a freshwater slug (Dr. Igor Siwanowicz)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
(Dr. Vasileios Kokkoris, Dr. Franck Stefani, Dr. Nicolas Corradi)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Bogong moth (Ahmad Fauzan)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
(Dr. Robert Markus, Zsuzsa Markus)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Microtubules inside a cell (Jason Kirk)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Chameleon embryo (Dr. Allan Carrillo-Baltodano, David Salamanca)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Neuron connections in the hippocampus (Jason Kirk, Quynh Nguyen)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Daphnia magna (Ahmad Fauzan)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Red alga (Dr. Tagide de Carvalho)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
A human hair (Robert Vierthaler)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Crystallization of a water-ethanol solution (Justin Zoll)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Byctiscus betulae (Özgür Kerem Bulur)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Chaetogaster diaphanus (Dr. Eduardo Zattara, Dr. Alexa Bely)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Nylon stockings (Alexander Klepnev)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Ventral view of a water boatman (Anne Algar)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Atlas moth wing (Chris Perani)
Meet the Winners of the Nikon Small World 2020 Competition (Gallery)
Cell wall of a marine diatom Arachnoidiscus (Dr. Jan Michels)