A water strider’s leg, the domains of a crystal, stars above Lion Rock and caterpillars in a Hong Kong country park. These four images bring together close observation and different ways of seeing, from microscopy to long-exposure photography. Select an image to look more closely, discover the science behind its patterns and learn how the photographer captured this view.
The leg of a water strider is covered in setae: fine, tapered hairs with grooves at a much smaller scale. Together they retain a layer of air and resist wetting. This magnified view reveals the intricate surface that helps an insect move across water without sinking.
Image: Edmond Lam
Stars trace concentric arcs around the north celestial pole, close to Polaris. The movement belongs to the Earth: as it rotates, a long exposure records the stars’ apparent passage across the sky. Lion Rock anchors the scene in Hong Kong, where artificial light makes photographing the night sky particularly challenging.
Image: Krates Ng
Ferroelectric domains are regions of a crystal in which electric polarisation shares an orientation. Piezoresponse force microscopy maps the material’s minute mechanical response to a voltage applied through a fine probe. Here, colour makes the domain pattern visible; it is an image of measured response, rather than the crystal’s appearance to the naked eye.
Image: Kai Leng
These caterpillars belong to the lappet moth Metanastria gemella. Smriti Safaya photographed the group for an iNaturalist observation in December 2023. Alongside its close view of the caterpillars’ markings and hairs, the photograph records an encounter with a particular species in a particular place – a small contribution to a shared record of Hong Kong biodiversity.
Image: Smriti Safaya
Edmond Lam studies how heat and water move across surfaces, combining experiments with computational methods. After doctoral research at ETH Zurich, he received a Croucher Fellowship in 2023 to work at MIT, where he is a postdoctoral associate. His research interests include condensation and desalination. His winning image brings that interest in surfaces into focus, revealing the water-repellent hairs on a water strider’s leg.
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