Moonlit snow crystals

97% moon and the bright planet Jupiter next to it. In the cold snowy landscape, small crystals of different colors are seen in the snow taken with a macro lens. Even the two-bright stars Castor and Pollux are seen above the moon.

Snow crystals appear in different colors primarily due to light interference (thin films, prisms) or contamination, with thin-film interference causing iridescent blues, purples, and rainbow hues from light reflecting off layers, while contamination from algae (watermelon snow, green) or dirt/pollen creates vibrant reds, greens, and even blacks, altering the crystal's pure white appearance

 

 Potassium feldspar crystals are mainly created by slow crystallization from molten magma deep in the Earth's crust, where heat and pressure cause silicate minerals to arrange themselves into ordered structures as they cool, often in cracks and cavities in granite, or through weathering and transport of older rocks that are then reprecipitated from aqueous solutions. It is a natural geological process where the elements (potassium, aluminum, silicon, oxygen) slowly form the final crystal structure. How the process works: Magmatic Formation (Main): Melting & Ascent: Deep below the Earth's surface, rocks melt to form magma rich in silica, aluminum, and potassium. Slow Cooling: As the magma rises and cools very slowly under high pressure, the minerals have time to organize themselves into regular lattice structures. Crystallization: Potassium and aluminum ions bond with silicon and oxygen (SiO4 tetrahedra) in a specific monoclinic structure (like sanidine) to form feldspar. This process often produces large, well-shaped crystals in, for example, granite. Photo shows fluorescence of Feldspar once magma and almost looks like it during this condition.