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The galactic Zoo Pt. IX : Microbes
For every planet bearing a full grown civilization, there are a thousand worlds where evolution never got past the first stages of mono- and multicellular lifeforms. In other words: You're much more likely to encounter an alien bacterium than an intelligent alien .
Reason enough to take a closer look at these seemingly inferior creatures. After all, they may form a serious threat to your spaceship's life support systems!
The little critters are mostly invisible to the naked eye. Yet they swim in the waters, drift in the atmospheres and cling to the rocks of their resp. homeworlds.
Now let's put our samples under the microscope:
Alien phytoplankton, capable of photosynthesis:
phytoplankton forming biofilms and colonies on stone:
Zooplankton which feeds on the phytoplankton:
some multicellular types:
Fungus molds:
Fantastic!
Tinier still - Under the Electron Microscope:
JumpGate to Part VIII of the galactic Zoo:
https://huggingface.co/spaces/dalle-mini/dalle-mini/discussions/9851
very good detail, cool drawings, what tips did you use to zoom in on the last images?
"microphotography" is the key word.