After Images

The beauty of light, as seen on the last page of each OPN issue

A melting snowflake is shown as a quantitative phase map in which color encodes the optical path length of light through the crystal, proportional to its thickness. The densely packed color fringes are contours of equal thickness that trace the 3D relief of the dendritic arms, while the smoothly varying background records the nanometer-scale water film on the substrate. A laser beam illuminates the sample directly, with no lens anywhere in the system. A coded surface on the image sensor’s cover glass acts as a computational lens for ptychographic reconstruction. [Ref: Nat Commun., doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-75092-8]

—G. Zheng, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA—G. Zheng, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

01 Nov 2026

Crystal structures

Crystal structures formed from a mixture of beta-alanine and Coca Cola create a colorful, abstract landscape when viewed under a microscope using polarized light.

—Janeklass, Estonia, Wiki Science Competition Finalist 2025; CC-BY-4.0

01 Oct 2026

Microgravity Physics

Tiny ball bearings surround a larger central bearing during a fluid particles experiment, conducted inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module on 20 October 2025.

—NASA / Zena Cardman

01 Sep 2026

Alien landscape

Macro photography reveals complex textures and patterns within the iris, which can look similar to a “galaxy” or an alien landscape.

—Sai Krishna, civil engineer, Hyderabad, India

01 Jul 2026

Raindrop on a leaf

A raindrop resting on a leaf forms a near-perfect sphere, transforming it into both a spherical mirror and a spherical lens. Its curved surface reflects a miniature image of the surrounding sky and trees, while within, the droplet magnifies the fine cellular structures of the leaf. [OPN 2025 Photo Contest]

—Vahid Abbasian, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA

01 Jun 2026

Red Filter

A red filter smaller than the illumination beam allows peripheral unfiltered light to reach a beam splitter, generating a yellow edge halo. The outgoing polarized beam produces sharp geometric images of the filter mount, replicated across the splitter faces due to internal reflections and optical beam division.

—Image by José Armando Escamilla, Universidad Politécnica de Tulancingo, supervised by advisor Ana Karen Reyes in the lab of Noel Ivan Toto Arellano, Universidad Tecnológica de Tulancingo, Mexico

01 May 2026

Bluebottle Fly’s Eye

A closeup view of the grating-like structure of a bluebottle fly’s eye. The intricate structure enhances the eye’s optical performance, aiding in light capture and potentially improving sensitivity to polarized light—an ability vital for navigation and prey detection. [OPN 2025 Photo Contest]

—Vittorio Cecconi, Emergent Photonics Research Centre, Loughborough, UK

01 Apr 2026

Naturally Focused Undulations

Naturally focused undulations on the back of a glass disk are illuminated by an LED and focused onto the translucent front as a network of caustics, exhibiting the geometries predicted by singularity theory.

—Sculpture by glass artist Alison Stott, following discussions with University of Bristol physicist Michael Berry; exhibited in the H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, UK

01 Mar 2026

Plant 9 for our Spätlese

A cut of vine wood, which is used in the production of Spätlese (a white wine of German origin made from grapes harvested late in the season), is observed in autofluorescence using an InnoQuant slide scanner. The image title is a salute to the classic movie “Plan 9 from Outer Space” from Ed Wood.

—Sample preparation: Celia Perrin, LVBE - UHA; Data acquisition: Mathilde Bouakil, Innopsys; Image recontruction/rendering: Olivier Haeberlé and Bruno Colicchio, IRIMAS - UHA, France

01 Feb 2026

Miniature Beauty

Spores (blue/purple structures) of a small tropical fern (Ceratopteris richardii). [5th Place, 2025 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition].

—Igor Robert Siwanowicz, HHMI, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, USA; image courtesy of Nikon Small World

01 Jan 2026

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After Images