Alva Review-Courier -

HIGHMOUNT, N.Y. (AP) — Capturing snowflakes isn't as easy as sticking out your tongue.

At least not when you're trying to capture them for scientific study, which involves isolating the tiniest of crystals on a metal card printed with grid lines and quickly placing them under a microscope to be photographed.

"They are very tiny and they are close to the melting point," Marco Tedesco of Columbia University said as he set up his microscope beside a snowy field. "So as soon as they fall, they will melt."

Tedesco recently led a team of three researchers who trudged through the snowy hills of New Y...