After Images
The beauty of light, as seen on the last page of each OPN issue
Internal surface of a ceramic bowl
The internal surface of a ceramic bowl placed on blue paper and illuminated with sunlight forms a caustic—the curve where all light rays that have been reflected from a curved surface meet. Fujifilm XH-2, f/11, 1/3 sec, ISO-125, focal length 33 mm.
—Andrea Aiello, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen, Germany
01 Oct 2024
Thin crystalline film
Thin crystalline film of cesium chloride imaged in compensated polarized light microscopy, magnification 100×.
—Karl Gaff, Art of Science Photography, Dublin, Ireland, Wiki Science Competition 2021; CC-BY-4.0
01 Sep 2024
Green Fire
A light sheet generated with a laser passes through a turbulent flow of humid air.
—Emiliano Hernández Figueroa, Instituto de Energías Renovables de la UNAM, Temixco, Mexico
01 Jul 2024
Colorful Scattering
The scattering of light creates vivid colors in 12,479 hanging fibers representing 12,479 famous ancient Chinese paintings in a special exhibition at Jiaxing Culture & Art Centre, Jiaxing, China. [OPN 2023 Photo Contest]
—Zhijun Xu, Zhejiang University of Technology, Zhejiang, China
01 Jun 2024
Laser-Induced Damage
Self-destructive beauty: Image of laser-induced damage on an optical surface recorded with a Nomarski type microscope.
—Lidaris LIDT Service, European Science Photo Competition 2015, CC BY-SA 4.0
01 May 2024
Galactic Tapestry
Threads of superheated gas and magnetic fields weave a tapestry of energy at the center of the Milky Way galaxy in this image created with a giant mosaic of data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa.
—X-ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/Q.D. Wang Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKAT
01 Apr 2024
Soft tissue illuminated by a headlight
Soft tissue (leg) contact-illuminated by an LED-panel headlight. The red hue results from lower tissue attenuation at that longer wavelength causing red light to re-emit. The yellow is due to stronger surface scattering and the greater spectral intensity of the LED in the yellow band. The staggered strips of red and yellow arise from the abnormality of the image stabilization of the iPhone 6S camera.
—Daqing (Daching) Piao, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
01 Mar 2024
The curved surface of a glass of tea
The curved surface of a glass of tea and the liquid within refract and focus sunlight into a bright, concentrated spot, which diffuses into an amber-tinted conical shape. The glass also acts as a prism, creating a miniature dispersion effect along the light pattern’s edges that results in a boomerang-like rainbow.
—Vahid Abbasian, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
01 Feb 2024
Fireworks
Fireworks viewed through the combination of a phone and a cylindrical glass create a prismatic effect, with vibrant patterns generated from reflection and refraction of the light. Image taken with a Motorola Edge 20 Lite.[OPN 2023 Photo Contest]
—Edgar Guevara, CONAHCYT-UASLP, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
01 Jan 2024
Dichroic Filters
A row of consecutive dichroic filters is obliquely illuminated by a circular white torchlight, creating a diverse range of colors. A Huawei P30 smartphone camera in macro mode was positioned at the rectangular entrance (3 × 10 mm) with a strong tilt, providing a unique perspective.[OPN 2023 Photo Contest Editors’ Choice]
—Aliaksei Kobylinskiy and Robert Brunner, Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena, Jena, Germany
01 Dec 2023