Orbs are mysterious lights which appear on photos and in videos. Some believe these to be paranormal in origin, either a spirit or a ghost. They are most commonly circular, but can also come in different shapes. They can be quite solid, or they can be transparent. Some have features, such as inner rings, different colors throughout, or a sort of nucleus where the center is more or less solid or of a different color than the outer part of the orb. Most common orbs are white, but they can also be of any color. Orbs can appear stationary or they can move in videos. Caught in a still picture, sometimes an orb is blurred, creating the idea that it was moving.
What causes orbs? How can they be explained? There are so many different theories that it is hard to imagine that orbs can ever be completely understood or explained. I saw one "moving orb" on film that was obviously a reflection of light off the watch of the person holding the camera. If you looked carefully, you could see the shadow of his arm moving exactly with the so called orb. It is important to be skeptical when one is looking at orbs and try to eliminate all the non-paranormal causes as much as possible.
Arguably, the most common causes of orbs are dust and other airborne particles, or even small flying insects. When solid particles are floating just inches in front of the camera's lens, then the photographic flash makes them very bright. This particle is out of focus, so it just shows up as a round spot of light in the picture. Moisture in the air can also catch the light and cause orbs. It is important to know if the air was damp the day the picture was taken or if it was raining or snowing.
Orbs can also be created by bright lights in an area where the photo is being taken, by angles of light and by many types of artificial lighting. Lens flare is caused when there's a bright light, like the sun, in the picture or just outside of it. The source of light reflects off a portion of the lens, and creates internal reflections of the aperture of the camera. Colored orbs may be just dependent on what light refraction's were present when the photos were taken. While rare, ball lightning may also be mistaken for an orb.
Some say orbs in digital photographs can actually be pixel distortions. However, when that error does occur in digital photos, the objects tend to be square in nature, not round and they cannot be semi-transparent, the pixel behind would have to be corrupted also.
Others believe the orbs are ghosts in the form of balls of light. They feel that orbs are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. Psychics claim to talk to them on a regular basis, and ghost hunters encounter them quite frequently. It is said that they are those spirits that have willingly stayed behind because they feel bound to their previous life or previous location for whatever reason. In this way the movements, behaviour, and even the colors that the orbs show are thought to reflect human behaviour.
Some feel that the orb is energy being transferred from a source to the spirit so they can manifest themselves. This energy may be from powerlines, heat, batteries, people, or from many other sources. This may not even be a conscious thing the spirit is doing, just a natural way they get their energy. This would explain why the orbs are round balls. According to the laws of Physics energy being transferring like that would assume the shape of a sphere.
It is theorized that the form of a ball of light takes less energy and that is why it is the preferred shape among ghosts. The consensus is that small orbs take up the least amount of energy and apparitions and other fuller shapes take up the most. In the colder parts of the year, it seems that ghosts tend to find it easier to take on shapes other than orbs. That's when there is the most static electricity in the atmosphere.
It is very important to be thorough in examing the possible causes of orbs in each case when they are present, and document if they coincide with other odd phenomeonon, such as temperature variations, or auditory cues.