Awesome, Fred. Do theses thing always have 6 "arms"? Jens
Six s by far the most common, and the number of arms (or dendrites) usually is in mutiples of 6. 12 armed crystals are pretty rare - I have seen only a couple -
http://www.markcassino.com/galleries/snowflakes/04s25.htm
http://www.markcassino.com/galleries/snowflakes/04s24.htm
18 sided crystals are exceptionally rare. A local meteorologist has been on quest to find one for years - from time to time the local paper runs an article about his continuing search (AFAIK, he still hasn't found one.) 3 sided ones pop up from time to time.
You will never see a 5 or 7 or 10 armed snow crystal, other than a damaged one that has lost a bit.
Take a look at the snow crystal guide at www.snowcrystals.com - which is also the place that sets the standards for shooting these things.
- MCC
