How many petals does a snowflake have? You may not know

When talking about the most wonderful subject in the world, most people will definitely blurt out: astronomy.

What mysteries does astronomy contain that make so many people yearn for and persist in exploring it? Perhaps everyone has looked up at the starry sky in childhood, full of curiosity and reverie about the vast universe and the unsolved mysteries in it.

When we were children, we may have dreamed of following our parents to the countryside or open fields to observe the sky with the help of professional astronomical equipment. Although the field of vision is far and vast, it can allow our imagination to soar among the distant stars.

What can we observe through high-definition telescopes? Distant nebulae are clearly displayed in front of us, and planets light years away from us now have shapes. The smoky and beautiful Milky Way is fully absorbed by our pupils. The stars and the endless galaxy, the imagination space is infinitely released, and a beautiful picture is unfolded.

Photographs by the author of "The Boy Looking Up at the Sky"

In fact, in addition to capturing the clouds and stars with a camera or witnessing them with your own eyes, you can also supplement your knowledge through popular science books. For example, the books that children love to read, such as "DK Star Encyclopedia" and "Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe", use books to reduce the dimension of space knowledge and turn it into detailed illustrations, becoming encyclopedias that children love to read and satisfy their endless curiosity.

Did you see the first snow of this year?

The ritual of winter is the first snow falling from the sky, and the whole city is renewed and covered in silver.

What do snowflakes look like in the eyes of astronomical researchers?

Opening the volume "Going to the North to See Snow" in the series "The Boy Looking Up at the Sky", Han Xing and Ying Yue were happy and surprised in a heavy snowfall. They approached their father's microscope and were stunned by the scene in front of them. On the glass slide of the microscope lay an exquisite twelve-petal snowflake, which was even more crystal clear than the snowflakes in "Frozen".

The Boy Looking Up at the Sky: Going to the North to See the Snow

Below the stage, the snowflakes are dimly illuminated by the soft LED light. The dim light reflects clear outlines, and the colors of the snowflakes are particularly beautiful.

Children, please guess, how many petals a snowflake has?

Even though they live in the north where snowflakes fly everywhere in winter, Hanxing and Yingyue's grandparents don't know the number of petals a snowflake has. In people's minds, six, eight, or twelve are all possible.

Among the above snowflakes with different petal numbers, only one is wrong. Parents can also guess with their children which one is wrong. But when it comes to snowflakes, there are indeed many types. There are no two snowflakes that are exactly the same in the world, but according to the main characteristics of these snowflakes, they can be divided into general categories.

The most common types of snowflakes are as follows:

Hexagonal snowflake

They look like hexagonal plates, are difficult to see with the naked eye, and are usually less than 1 mm in size.

Star shaped snowflake

There are six fine branches, like the familiar six-pointed star, measuring about 2-3 mm.

Fan-Shaped Snowflakes

The branches are broad, and each branch gradually becomes thinner and wider from the center outward, much like a fan.

Astrolabe Snowflake

In the middle is a regular hexagonal snowflake, with a star-shaped outer ring, about 3-5 mm in size.

I don’t know what beautiful snowflakes you have seen. Although I have lived in the north for many years, my memory of snowflakes is very vague. Perhaps because they are so common, they lack the surprise.

But I sincerely suggest that parents pay special attention to the first snow in their city this winter, carefully observe the shape of the snowflakes, and then listen to the analysis of the snowflakes by two senior planetarium researchers, so as not to miss the unique ritual of winter.

I would also like to share with you some of the snowflakes I have taken in the winter before. Although they were not observed up close, the feeling of heavy snowfall was still there.

What does the Forbidden City look like in the snow?

In the book, a family of four seized the opportunity to take photos during the heavy snow and took the subway to visit the beautiful Forbidden City in the snow.

The bronze crane in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony looked very cute with a thick layer of "white snow cake" on its back. They walked northward, playing as they went, stopping and starting for more than an hour.

In the Imperial Garden, Yingyue observed that the snowy weather made the colors of the Forbidden City even more beautiful. Normally, the colors of the Forbidden City buildings are mostly yellow and red, coupled with the green under the eaves, giving people a feeling of splendour, magnificence and grandeur. However, the Forbidden City after the snow seemed unexpectedly quiet and gentle. This sense of contrast brought everyone a different kind of surprise.

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