Close-up of the super-cooled water droplets, some staying as spheres while others begin to form crystals - some radial, some parallel to the main snowflake's growth plane but not linked to the original molecular lattice.

Here's a close-up selection that illustrates the "sweating" of the surface of the crystal, and other parts that have nearly entirely turned back to water.

Snowflake 963
Finally, a chance to photograph a snowflake here in #Bulgaria! Problem is, it was melting as I photographed it. That leads to a unique set of challenges but also a rather unique look into the life of a snowflake.

Snowflake 962

Broad branches are always beautiful, as if this snowflake is a set of 7, including the center. Combined with a splash of colour from thin film interference, there’s charm here – but there’s also a mystery. The thin sections of the branches have a feature I can’t easily explain.

Snowflake 961

This is a delightfully odd and exotic snowflake; a variety rarely seen and doesn’t match any of the standard “types” of snow. I’ll call it a “scrolled plate that transitioned to needles”. That’s about as good as it gets!

#science #physics #weather #meteorology #nature #macro #ice

Snowflake 960

There are so many varieties of snowflakes, but they break down into two primary categories: plates and columns. Columns can be quite enigmatic, while possessing a simple outline; it’s the details inside the crystal that make them special.

Bubbles! And lots of them. :)

Snowflake 959

One of the elements of my snowflake photographs: the black mitten. All of these images are shot on a mitten as the background.

The mitten was made by my grandmother; it is with sadness to announce that she passed away on January 1st of this year, peacefully and surrounded by family.

Snowflake 958

I call these “button gem snowflakes”, though they are a variation the split crystal form. If a column grows plates out of both sides, and one of the plates grows faster than the other on all size sides, you get this effect.

#snow #snowflake #science #physics #weather #ice #water

Snowflake 957
Merry Christmas! This one is quite special and unique, not only is it one of the rarest varieties of “crystal twinning”, it’s also the reverse side of a snowflake I originally published in 2016.

I have no record of a similar ice crystal ever being documented by anyone in history.

Snowflake 956

“Split” crystals begin from a central column-type crystal which grows hexagonal plates from both sides of the column. It’s always a race for these plates. If one corner of one plate grows out further than the same corner on the other end of the column, the race for that corner is won