Image of the Week
Striking images of optics and photonics, contributed by OPN readers
Degenerating Beauty
Confocal image of a fruit fly retina expressing a toxic form of the RdgB protein, leading to degeneration.
—Guilliaume Thuery, Ireland, Wiki Science Competition 2023; CC-BY-4.0
23 May 2025
Pink Coriander
Coriander extract exhibits fluorescence due to the presence of chlorophyll under illumination from a 405-nm laser beam.
—Emiliano Hernández Figueroa, UNAM, Temixco, Mexico
16 May 2025
Milky Way Spiral
Milky Way dust emission as measured from the Planck satellite and converted into a polarization pattern of B-modes, a spiral type of polarization imprinted in the microwave sky.
—Uroš Seljak, University of California, Berkeley, USA, Winner Wiki Science Competition 2019; CC-BY-4.0
09 May 2025
Laser in Water
Scattered light from the extended propagation path of a kilohertz near-infrared femtosecond laser pulse inside a water-filled glass tube.
—Brijesh Prithvi, UM-DAE CEBS, Mumbai, India
02 May 2025
Paths of Light
Light passing through prisms and beam splitters is broken down into a spectrum of visible colors.
—Edgar Guevara, CONAHCYT-UASLP, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
25 Apr 2025
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
