  The orientation of small anisotropic particles settling in a turbulent fluid
determines some essential properties of the suspension. We show that the
orientation distribution of small heavy spheroids settling through turbulence
can be accurately predicted by a simple Gaussian statistical model that takes
into account particle inertia and provides a quantitative understanding of the
orientation distribution on the problem parameters when fluid inertia is
negligible. Our results open the way to a parameterisation of the distribution
of ice-crystals in clouds, and potentially leads to an improved understanding
of radiation reflection, or particle aggregation through collisions in clouds.
