Through his photomicrograph collection, we can see just what a complex and wonderful creation each snowflake is, and why it has been the subject of such debate over the years. These snow crystals begin to form around tiny dust particles that have been carried up high into the atmosphere. When the temperature drops below freezing at these high altitudes, water vapor clings to these dust particles. Interestingly, the water vapor skips the liquid state and turns directly into ice, a process called sublimation. When the air contains enough moisture and the ice crystals accumulate, these crystal formations begin to fall as snow.
Hexagonal plates are thin, solid, or partly snow crystals.
This pattern is made up of a variety of ridges and hollows, as well as thick and thin ice. The stellar star pattern is the one many know as the symbol of a snowflake. It assumes this pattern because ice crystals tend to cling together in cottony clumps and have the corners of a star, unlike hexagonal plates. The stellar and plate combination pattern is formed when plate and stellar star characteristics unite. The resulting flake is considered the most exquisite of all crystals.