12/24/2025
Amazing photography
Snowflake 968
Most snowflakes have six branches. Very rarely, one can form twelve. But how about thirteen? The mystery of snowflakes with more than six branches is about to be revealed, and it has a lot to do with luck.
Unlike the genetic anomaly that allows for a four-leafed clover, there’s no physics exception that allows for a snowflake to have more than six branches – within the same molecular crystal lattice. However, what if multiple lattices are at play? What if two small plate crystals collide with one another in their infancy? Branches will form, and if they happen to be rotated exactly 30-degrees from each-other, there will be enough room for each plate to grow all of their branches. Sometimes, it’s just that “neat”. This is not one of those times.
This is a crystal cluster. It becomes difficult to discern where one crystal ends and the next layer begins. While there are 13 outward-growing branch tips, look deeper and you’ll see even more slower-growing broad branches. The actual number becomes immeasurable. The 10-o’clock branch rests at the top of the stack, separate from the rest. I can spot at least six separate layers of growth, possibly from 3-4 different crystals stuck together.
Consider it a “snowflake family”: all growing together, all impacting the growth and development of each-other, all within the same space, same resources, same fate. As families gather for Christmas, may we all be healthy, happy, and find those moments that turn into cherished memories.
Can I ask you for a small favour? Reach out to someone over the holidays that you haven’t heard from in years. Be it distant family, an old high school friend, or a colleague from a job you once worked at. Reconnect. While there’s a lot in the world to worry about at the moment, a phone call is guaranteed to make someone smile. We can all make the time for it.
