Snowflake unlikely that any two snowflakes are alike due to the estimated 10 (10 quintillion) water molecules which make up a typical snowflake, which grow at different rates and in different patterns depending on the changing temperature and humidity within the atmosphere that the snowflake falls through on its way to the ground. Snowflakes that look identical, but may vary at the molecular level, have been grown under controlled conditions. Although snowflakes are never completely symmetrical, a non-aggregated snowflake often grows so as to exhibit an approximation of six-fold radial symmetry. The symmetry gets started due to the hexagonal crystalline structure
Snowflake Bentley (book) Snowflake Bentley (book) Snowflake Bentley is a children's picture book written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian. Published in 1998, the book is about Wilson Bentley, the first known photographer of snowflakes. Azarian won the 1999 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations. "Snowflake Bentley" is a medium size book, measuring 10 ½ by 10 ¼ inches, and has 16 pages of illustrations. Majority of the pictures are large colorful prints, which is the typical art style of artist Mary Azarian, and each picture summarizes the wording for that page. Many of the pages have a vertical side bar