No two snowflakes are alike. This was discovered by a man named Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley. He was born in 1865 in Vermont. He grew up on a farm, and was fascinated by snowflakes. His mother gave him a microscope when he was 15. He used it to look at snowflakes.
Wilson Bentley uses a microscope and camera to take pictures of snowflakes before they melt.
SEPIA TIMES/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/GETTY IMAGES“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty,” he said. At first he tried to draw what he saw. But the snowflakes melted too quickly. So he attached a camera to the microscope.
Big Discovery
On January 15, 1885, Bentley took the first photo of a snowflake. He continued taking pictures of them. He photographed more than 5,000 snowflakes. Each one looked different. He published his findings. His discovery advanced meteorology, or the study of weather. His book, Snow Crystals, included 2,500 of his snowflake photos.
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