The Many Types of Snow Flakes
December 11, 2008
Kenneth Libbrecht of Caltech has produced some very intersting microscopic photos of snowflakes. Gathering flakes that fell from Alsaska, Ontario and several other states, Libbrecht used a photomicroscope to identify 13 types of snowflakes. Very beutiful to see the frailty of each snowflake yet it falls from the clouds 5,000 feet to the ground. My favorite the Stellar #5 Snowflake, looks much like a traditional snowflake we all make in elementary school but with such intricate detail.
Leads me to question if all snowflakes in one particular area are similar? Or, do the snowflakes all come from the same cloud and it’s just temperature or altitude differences that produce the type of flake. Beautiful and interesting!
