The Common Misconception of ORBS
The Common Misconception of Orbs
What is the truth behind the photographic anomaly known to many as “orbs”? These circular balls of light that show up in photos are most of the time dust, water, or other particle reflections. After showing up in photographs, it swept through the paranormal community that these were an energy that accompanies ghosts or manifestations. People believed and accepted this rather than questioning what else could cause the presence in photos. Based on our experience, an orb appears in an average of 1 out of every 12 photos taken. Wouldn’t you expect to see more evidence of paranormal events if it were so common to capture activity in pictures?
“Orbs” show up in a variety of sizes, shapes, color, and textures. To understand why this photographic error occurs, we have to examine how light reflects off of particles. Dust particles are made up of tiny crystals and are in every area that we photograph. Think of when you see a beam of sunlight shining through the window and how many dust particles are floating in the air, even in the cleanest room. When a flash of light from the camera hits an angle of the crystals, it reflects back, just as if you took a picture of a tiny mirror. The “orb” is spherical in shape, hence the name, due to the way the light is captured through the camera lens and the particle being out of focus (The camera is focusing on objects in the distance). The closer to the camera lens, the larger the orb will appear. The texture will vary depending on the properties of the particle and sometimes people claim to see faces or shapes when in reality it is the brain attempting to see a pattern (Refer to our Matrixing Article for more information on this subject). The color will also vary because when light passes through a crystal, it creates a spectrum of color (Just like light passing through a prism) which may cause one or more colors to show up in the photo.
A few more variables can be considered when looking at the reason for orbs appearing. The quality of the camera taking the picture does matter. Higher end or “SLR” cameras have built in diffusers in the flash so that professionals don’t have to worry about these particles showing up in so many pictures. On a normal digital camera, the lens and the flash are almost flush with each other allowing more light to spread over the focal area. On a professional camera, the lens is a few inches away which in turn eliminates the light hitting particles directly in front of the lens.
As we can see, the “orb” phenomena are not paranormal in nature, but rather have a scientific explanation. Most people believe that it is a spirit because they want so strongly to find evidence of paranormal activity that they ignore the science behind the occurrence. A true manifestation or ball of energy will produce its own light source which can be captured on camera without the use of a flash. Differentiating between what is logical and what is paranormal will help further our field of research and offer credibility to the ones who call themselves paranormal investigators.
