Close up photographs of snowflakes reveals alien-like landscape

THEY may look alien-like, but these little beauties are natural snowflakes up close using a microscope chilled to -170 degrees.

Snowflakes

THEY may look alien-like, but these little beauties are natural snowflakes up close using a microscope chilled to -170 degrees.

Hydrologists in Maryland are studying the composition of snowflakes in order to understand how they affect our ecosystem – even our everyday lives.

They may even look computer generated but they are all naturally-occurring.

Shipping in the samples collected from snow banks or from freshly fallen powder the US-based crew are trying to figure out how their composition effects our ecosystem.

Some believe they may hold the secrets for how to better protect the country from flooding.

IN PICTURES: The secrets of snowflakes

Snowflakes

After magnifying the samples as high as up to almost 2000 times their regular size, scientists were saw exactly how they are comprised.

They could also compare differences in flakes collected from different areas.

Snowflakes

Photographing a snowflake is no easy task, however, and scientists had to place them on pre-cooled copper plates to keep them intact.

The copper plates are also coated on one side with methyl cellulose - a gel like solution – to keep them attached.

Once collected, the plates are rapidly plunged in liquid nitrogen, cooling them down to -196C, allowing the precious flakes to be transported and studied at different locations.

Snowflakes