Ice Cup in 3D
Over the past couple of winters I've looked at a large number of snowflakes but this one is very unique. I guess I'd call it a hollow column but the prismatic sides are not of a normal column. This one appears as if perhaps it wanted to do something else but kept truncating and forced to start over.
The other interesting aspect is how very thin the walls are. If you are able to see this in stereo (cross eye method) you can indeed see just how fragile this one is, again differing from columns which are usually thick beasts.
Photographed in crossed polarized light , these colors are natural and a result of the polarization twisting of ice when viewed perpendicular to the optical axis with this method. The stereo 3D was achieved by imaging the subject at two different anges.
I believe this crystal to represent a new taxon which I will christen "goblet".
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