MicrobeHunter.com Microscopy Forum

Planapo 63x/1.4, DIC, 450µm length - 10µm width, stacked and stitched in Photoshop, Marine sample, Alboran Sea.

Crazy long diatom! Those of you with big screens will be able to see a little more detail

Left background as found - basically just cleaned up dust spots

If you right click on it you can open in a new screen and zoom.

Stunning!
CE

That is very good!....

BillT

Many thanks Crater Eddie, good tip Roldorf

Beautiful color inside. Nice job!

Hi Glen,
great image! The presentation with small picture here and a big one accessible via mouse click is nice. This was probably a great opportunity to use the 63/1.4 for its field of view and resolution.

This is probably one of the diatoms one usually finds only in fragments as it is so long and vulnerable. I always regret not having found the diatom in good shape.

Bob

Many thanks Wes and MicroBob

This is probably one of the diatoms one usually finds only in fragments as it is so long and vulnerable. I always regret not having found the diatom in good shape.

I can see how it would be difficult for such long diatoms to survive the cleaning process.

Perhaps there is a milder method that sacrifices speed but protects more delicate diatoms?

Another exquisite image!

According to that recently posted microbe paper on climate change, diatoms perform 25-40% of total primary production in the oceans. Impressive.

Thany thanks Sauerkraut

MicroBob wrote:This was probably a great opportunity to use the 63/1.4 for its field of view and resolution.

I am wondering, given that the fine detail in many diatoms is simply non-visible at medium magnifications - if the use of higher power and higher NA objectives via stitching should be the norm.

Light microscopy can provide more detail than we are used to getting, given that most microscopists tend to chose a magnification based simply on whether the diatom fits in the field of view.

I do not think that apart from the convenience of digital imaging (over film), we are exploiting it as much as we could. Stacking and stitching have the potential to transform microscope photography.

75RR wrote:Stacking and stitching have the potential to transform microscope photography.

That is true for sure! And this is not future technology but could be widely done with todays means. A 3D-Printer offers guides and movements in 3 axes and is available for about 250€. I think some people already have built up running systems and can imagine that they are available commercialy, e.g. for pathology, but in amateur microscopy the don't play a big role so far. One would only need one or two high power objectives, no expensive trinocular tube and manual interface.

On the other hand side it is the question what to do with these high resolution images: Hanging them on the wall? On all walls? Slideshow on the 4K TV? This may have been on factor that has limited the speed of development here. The other factor will have been that for the development you have to know about microscopy, mechanics, electronics and software and there are not so many people who can offer these skills in one person.

A StackStich machine based on a Steindorf Mikrobenjäger would be nice!

Bob

MicroBob wrote:A StackStich machine based on a Steindorf Mikrobenjäger would be nice!

Indeed! For those of you unfamiliar with this website's namesake (or is it the other way around) here is Charles' microbehunter:

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/art ... dorff.html

By the way the left side to me appears somewhat less healthy compared to its right counterpart, namely referring to the structure and distribution of the brown pigment. Any idea on what dying diatoms look like?

By the way the left side to me appears somewhat less healthy compared to its right counterpart, namely referring to the structure and distribution of the brown pigment.

It does not take long to see a difference on the chloroplasts (a shrinking) when under the bright lights of a microscope. It may be an adjustment to the intensity of the light.

Any idea on what dying diatoms look like?

Don't think there is anything as dramatic to see as one does with ciliates which disintegrate.

Wow so cool. I've seen a long diatom before but not that long.

Thanks Chadack

Wow so cool. I've seen a long diatom before but not that long.

I don't think I have either. Personal record I think!

Congrats 75RR - very well done

Many thanks ImperatorRex, much appreciated