Image caption A few millilitres of water were put in this balloon before it was over-inflated. The high-speed flash was trigged by the sound of the burst, capturing the image

One hundred images form a stunning new photographic exhibition that demonstrates the role played by imaging across many areas of science.

The show reveals many aspects of Nature not usually visible to the naked eye.

The Royal Photographic Society is hosting the event alongside the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Currently on display in Newcastle as part of the British Science Festival, it will shortly tour the UK, Europe and China.

The photographs included in the exhibition exploit a range of techniques, such as CT and MRI scanning, X-ray technology and refraction-measuring "Schlieren" imaging.

This is the second time the International Images for Science exhibition has taken place. It began in 2011, after the number of scientific images included in the International Print Exhibition declined.

Most pictures were created by scientists as part of their research. Dorit Hockman, from the University of Cambridge, took the photograph of bat embryos shown below. She told the BBC: "I am trying to understand vertebrate embryo development.

"These images allowed me to describe the stages in development of bat limbs. The embryos had been sitting in a lab in Houston for 20 years and I found them and photographed them. The bat species are long-limbed gliders and it is interesting to compare how their wings develop compared with more typical short-winged bats."

We selected our favourite images from the exhibition.

Image caption The Dusty Spectacle of Orion, 2013, by Robert Hurt, Caltech, US. The nebula is pictured in infra-red and colour-coded according to wavelength. The data was captured by the Nasa Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer spacecraft

Image caption Tardigrade, or Water Bear, 2010, by Nicole Ottawa, Eye of Science, Germany. A digitally coloured scanning electron micrograph image of the tiny invertebrate, found on moss in Crater Lake, Tanzania

Image caption Human Lymphocyte, 2011, by David Scharf, Los Angeles. A human "Natural Killer" lymphocyte, a type of cell that mediates the immune system. This image is from a scanning electron micrograph, with the colours taken from multiple secondary detectors in a technique invented by the photographer

Image caption Bat embryonic development, 2006, by Dorit Hockman, University of Cambridge. Development of embryos of the Black Mastiff Bat

Image caption Sunflower of Jasper, 2010, by Bernardo Cesare, Università Di Padova, Italy. Ocean jasper is found in Madagascar. It is a volcanic rock, containing silicate minerals. This image is a twice-polarised light micrograph

Image caption Beauveria bassiana, 2012, by Nicole Ottawa, Reitlingen, Germany. This, believe it or not, is the base of a mosquito’s antenna. The image is from a scanning electron micrograph, and has been digitally coloured