  Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of nanoscale objects in their native
conditions and at different temperatures are of critical importance in
revealing details of their interactions with ambient environments. Currently
available environmental capsules are equipped with thin electron transparent
membranes and allow imaging the samples at atmospheric pressure. However these
capsules do not provide the temperature control over the sample. Here we
developed and tested a thermoelectric cooling / heating setup for available
environmental capsules to allow ambient pressure in situ SEM studies over the
-15 {\deg}C to 100 {\deg}C temperature range in gaseous, liquid, and frozen
environments. The design of the setup also allows correlation of the SEM with
optical microscopy and spectroscopy. As a demonstration of the possibilities of
the developed approach, we performed real-time in situ microscopy studies of
water condensation on a surface of wing scales of Morpho sulkowskyi butterfly.
We have found that the initial water nucleation takes place on the top of the
scale ridges. These results confirmed earlier discovery of a polarity gradient
of the ridges of Morpho butterflies. Our developed thermoelectric cooling /
heating setup for available SEM environmental capsules promises to impact
diverse needs for in-situ nano-characterization including materials science and
catalysis, micro-instrumentation and device reliability, chemistry and biology.
