5 FREEZING FACTS

1 ICE IN SPACE

Far beyond our own Solar System, so-called ‘interstellar ice’ forms from frozen grains of space dust in dense molecular clouds where new stars are born.

2 BENDY CRYSTALS

Scientists invented a new type of ice that can bend and snap back into shape without breaking. They do this by growing long, single ice crystals in incredibly low temperatures.

3 GLACIAL STORAGE

Over two-thirds of Earth’s freshwater is stored in glaciers. Scientists estimate that global sea levels would rise by 80 metres if every glacier and ice sheet melted.

4 ICY ERUPTION

On Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, ‘cryovolcanoes’ eject ice instead of magma. Heated ice below the surface erupts as water vapour, turning into ice particles when exposed to the frosty atmosphere.

5 A HUNDRED NAMES FOR ICE

The Alaskan

Inupiaq people have over 100 names for different types for ice. We have plenty of words in English, too, including bummock, hummock, floe and pancake ice.