If the recent snowfalls have left you dreaming of a white Christmas, your wish might be granted - because forecasters say we're in for more over the next week. And although a crisp and pristine blanket of the stuff is a wonderful sight to wake up to, snow is even more beautiful in close-up. As these photographs show, each snowflake is a miniature masterpiece of nature: six-sided, perfectly symmetrical - and unique.

It is created in an instant out of water vapour, and vanishes just as suddenly, its pattern never to be repeated. These amazing images were taken, using a special microscope, by physics Professor Kenneth Libbrecht, who has spent the past 11 years on a personal quest to record the beautiful world of snowflakes. Prof Libbrecht, of the California Institute of Technology, says that the most 'basic' snowflake pattern is the hexagonal prism - a six-sided block with little detail.
 






   



   
 

Stunning: As these images show, no two snowflakes are the same

The flakes, which look like six ferns joined in the centre, are called, more poetically, Fernlike Stellar Dendrites. They are the largest snow crystals (about 5mm) and make the best powdery snow. The simpler Stellar Dendrites (up to 4mm) look like branches and Christmas-tree decorations are often based on this shape. But the best thing about snowflakes? They all crunch pleasingly underfoot on a crisp winter morning.