Originally shared by Don Komarechka


Originally shared by Don Komarechka

Snowflake-a-Day #1
It’s that time again! This year’s series starts with a snowflake photographed at the end of last winter, as we haven’t gotten “the good stuff” yet this season. Be sure to view it large and enjoy the details!

This snowflake reveals some interesting details about these crystals, in a number of ways. The lighting on the center can quickly reveal the differences in depth and thickness of the crystal, with the light coming from the upper right, it falls off sharply on the lower left half of the center, This seems to mark a somewhat domed shape in the center, but that’s very difficult to explain. Usually, the areas that grow faster are the areas that stick out the farthest (more access to water vapour), so how does the center maintain a thicker profile?

I’m not sure. I might ponder on this one a little more or ask some people with an education that can help me find answers, but there has to be something more complicated at play here. I find these mysteries engaging and I don’t think I’ll ever stop asking tough questions about it!

Another curiosity that I CAN explain is the smaller lower left branch. If grown in perfectly balanced and even environments, snowflake will grow symmetrically. We’re seeing asymmetric growth that is mostly balanced, which means two things: Conditions average out over time to be equal, but some other snowflake was stealing building blocks on one of the branches. This is very common, and if you look closely you’ll see two “adornments” sitting on top of the main snowflake; two small simple hexagonal crystals.

What if one of these snowflakes landed near the tip of a growing branch? Or a larger crystal collided and stuck onto this snowflake? We’re guessing at shadows here, but something would have been attached to this branch to make it grow slower. Often times these hitchhiker crystals break off in the sky or on impact with the ground, but we can see the influence they’ve left on the surrounding crystal.

With snow right around the corner, wouldn’t it be great to try this yourself? I still have a few hundred copies of my book Sky Crystals left, with thousands already sold – get it while you can! The book not only details all the science, but gives an exhaustive photographic tutorial from equipment through settings, technique and post processing. Don’t let your macro lens collect dust this winter: https://www.skycrystals.ca/book/

This post is coming later that I’d like, as I’m quite under the weather and still trying to finish up studio renovations. There’s only so much time in each day…. and today was filled to the max! Expect another snowflake tomorrow, as winter begins its final approach. :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Entremet

Entremet Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh "“Like most people in the US, I grew up knowing the words to this carol and even (shudder) singing them occasionally (singing is not a strong point of mine), but never really thought about what they meant, how the carol originated, or what birds were involved”, says Dr Rasmussen in email. So she decided to figure it out. Dr Rasmussen, who’s tied for third for the most bird discoveries in the world, is probably also the world’s foremost avian sleuth, due to her meticulous detective work a few years ago that uncovered the many ornithological thefts and records frauds in museums that were committed by eminent British ornithologist, Richard Meinertzhagen. But who would ever have thought that an old Christmas carol might also hold an avian mystery? “After all, it’s just a Christmas carol!” Dr Rasmussen points out." https://medium.com/@GrrlScientist/meet-the-real-birds-of-the-twelve-days-of-christmas-fame-grrlscientist-5a8bc09350c9
Read more

Flushbunkingly Gloriumptious

Flushbunkingly Gloriumptious Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh "Renowned children's author and occasional spy, Roald Dahl spent the last years of his life in a home located in the small English village of Great Missenden, and now his beloved village is home to an attractive museum devoted to his life and works.  [...] Today the museum holds all of Dahl's original manuscripts, as well as his "Idea Books" where he would jot down his nascent creations. In addition to celebrating his writing career, there are also displays covering his service in the RAF. However, the crown jewel of the museum is the recreation of Dahl's purpose built "Writing Hut," complete with the arm chair he had customized to write in." http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-roald-dahl-museum
Read more

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh So Labradors tend to overeat. Now it has been traced to genetic differences. "Dr Eleanor Raffan, a veterinary surgeon and geneticist who studies how genes influence metabolism at the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge recently published a study that examines the genetics that underlie food motivation and obesity in Labrador retrievers. [...] When Dr Raffan and her team carefully examined this POMC gene variant, they found that a small 14-basepair section a little more than halfway down the gene’s length was missing. This deletion creates a frameshift mutation that results in the production of an abnormal protein where the last half is scrambled into a blob of nonsense [...]. Normally, the POMC is translated into the POMC pro-peptide, which is cleaved at precise sites to give rise to number of smaller peptides, including the appetite suppressing neuropeptides, ß-MSH & ß-endorphin, but the abnormal POMC pro-peptide do...
Read more