About Orbs
This section was written by Pat, a professional paranormal investigator who has years of experience.
She is the co-founder of Paranormal Researchers of Ohio
Orbs are, perhaps, one of the more controversial subjects in paranormal investigating. There are those who will tell you they are nothing more than 'dust' and others who will swear with equal passion that they are spirits. It is the opinion of this writer that orbs, genuine orbs, are balls of energy. A real orb will appear solid and will emit its own light. These orbs can occasionally be seen with the naked eye and sometimes be caught on camera. There is a correlation between the distance between the lens and the flash that captures more of dorbs (dust orbs, thanks Jenn for inventing a word for us). It should be noted that if your camera has a telescoping lens then you will not pick up as many dorbs that are particles of dust, pet dander, and other airborne debris. It is actually rare to take a picture of a genuine orb. Orbs, real or dust, do not have faces. The patterning often seen which are mistaken for facial features is called matrixing or paradelia . It's the 'man in the moon syndrome'. If you can see through them, they are dust. If there are several in the picture, they are dust. If they are pink, green, blue or any other color it is the reflection your flash has picked up and they are dust. Although real orbs are not paranormal they are often present when there is paranormal activity around. This could possibly be that the entities can draw from the energy. Remember, they are just balls of energy like that you might see if you stuck a fork in a light socket (don't try it).
Below you will find images of real orbs and dust orbs:
Real Orbs:
Dust Orbs:
