MOLINE, Ill. — Snowflakes are frozen water crystals that can never be an exact replica of another. However, snowflakes can be classified into these broader types: dendrites, plates, columns, needles, ...

Above: A hexagonal (six-sided) snow crystal, classified as a stellar dendrite. This crystal was photographed with an Olympus TG-6 camera after it landed on the sleeve of the authors fleece jacket.

Alexandria Johnson receives funding from NASA. The thought of snow can conjure up images of powdery slopes, days out of school or hours of shoveling. For millions of people, it’s an inevitable part of ...