Image of the Week
Striking images of optics and photonics, contributed by OPN readers
Earth in Far-UV
On 21 April 1972, NASA’s Apollo 16 mission took a far-UV photo of Earth with a UV camera. The original black-and-white picture was printed on Agfacontour professional film three times, with each exposure recording only one light level. The three light levels were then colored blue (dimmest), green (next brightest) and red (brightest).
—Apollo 16 Far UV Camera, G. Carruthers, NASA
18 Apr 2025
Colorful Ice "Feather"
A break in the ice on a frozen lake looks like a colorful feather. Unretouched photo taken with a Panasonic DMZ-TZ61.
— Michael Kobylinskiy, Friedenschule, Hermsdorf, Germany
11 Apr 2025
Partial Solar Eclipse
Partial solar eclipse over Europe on 29 March 2025. A sunspot is also visible in the region 4046 (direction of 10 o'clock). Image captured with SONY : ILCE-7RM4, Shutter speed: 1/160, Aperture: 45 Focal length: 400 mm, ISO: 50, Lens model: FE 70-200mm, F2.8 GM OSS II + 2X Teleconverter.
—Dan Curticapean, Offenburg University, Offenburg, Germany
04 Apr 2025
Butterfly Wings
Butterfly wings: In a dark room with no external source of light, a beam of light through a pinhole creates the illusion of a butterfly. Using multicolored LEDs results in a beautiful shape.[OPN 2024 Photo Contest]
—Sritam Kumar Sethy, M.pharma Student, Balasore, Odisha, India
28 Mar 2025
TV Digital Noise
Digital television noise caused by heavy fog and rain interfering with over-the-air transmission produces a colorful mosaic.
—Robert Schalck, Senior Member (Emeritus), North Bend, OR, USA
21 Mar 2025
Light Through a Lens
Light refracting at slightly different angles through a lens separates white light into its component colors, creating a rainbow effect on a pair of glasses.
—Edgar Guevara, CONAHCYT-UASLP, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
14 Mar 2025
Spectral Flame
A CD has the effect of a diffraction grating on candlelight, separating its constituent colors.
—Adriana Pedrosa Biscaia Tufaile, Soft Matter Lab, EACH, University of São Paulo City, São Paulo, Brazil
07 Mar 2025
Jets of Light
Multiple transmitted and reflected rays with different wavelengths are observed from a polycarbonate plate with selective semiconductor deposition under white light illumination.
—Emiliano Hernández Figueroa and Argelia Balbuena Ortega, Lab. ÓpERA, Instituto de Energías Renovables de la UNAM, Temixco, Mexico
28 Feb 2025
Random Caustics
Random caustics produced by grazing sunlight illuminating dew drops lying on a balcony railing, as seen through the frosted glass of a window.
— Andrea Aiello, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen, Germany
21 Feb 2025
Salt Crystal Fluorescence
Fluorescence from potassium chloride and magnesium chloride crystals as Alexa 488 dye dries on a coverslip, shown in pseudocolor. [OPN 2024 Photo Contest Honorable Mention]
—Siddharth Rawat, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
14 Feb 2025
