Thanks for providing these references. The hexagonal cloud formation was the first thing I noticed and was hoping someone would have already provided references in the comments. One of the great aspects of the HN community!
I think it's a sphere packing thing. [0] Equally sized circles touching on edges "like" to pack into a six-up orientation, not unlike a revolver pistol.
My hunch is that it's an artifact of pi, somehow. Six being easily factored to three, which has close proximity to pi.
My hunch is that it's an artifact of pi, somehow. Six being easily factored to three, which has close proximity to pi.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphere_packing