Aka : spears, globules, balls of light, globes  

Origin : first accounts dated back from Antiquity

Description : translucent balls of light hovering above the ground most often traveling erratically through the air. When a person or ghost hunter develops the picture or loads it onto his computer the photo has a hovering, round ball. Some of the orbs show up filled with light, while others appear to be transparent. Some pictures would reveal an inner substance and a spot (nucleus or brain) within the substance. A trail might indicate they were traveling at a fairly fast rate of speed at the time of the flash.

Time : nocturnal

Records : 100 000+

Location : generally spotted outdoors and most particularly at cemeteries

Theory :Some theories state orbs are the form spirits travel in.  the spirits of the deceased that remain on Earth, unknown form of energy, vessel of the Dryad faery, … . It is theorized that ghosts prefer the form of an Orb because it takes less energy than other apparitions.

Veracity factor : 3/10

There are many people who think orb photos are paranormal because they were taken in an allegedly haunted place. The truth is the majority of orb photos are merely refractions of light on the camera lens. This occurs when the camera flash bounces back from something reflective in the range of the camera. The way they are making cameras today is one of the main reasons. The flash is too close to the lens and it has been capturing orbs of light, dust or moisture in the air. When this happens, it creates a perfectly round ball of light which appears to be within the
area of the photo but is actually just an image on the lens itself.  Some experts say that 98% of photographed orbs are created inadvertently by circumstances and weather conditions at the time of the flash.

Naturalistic orbs are most commonly gained using digital cameras and built-in flash. While photographers with archives of photos report having occasionally seen "orbs" in their photos gained with film cameras, the recent rise in reports of orb photos may be directly related to the common availability of digital cameras and associated rise in the number of pictures taken.

It should be noted also that the size of the camera is another consideration in the recent proliferation of orb photos. As film cameras, and then digital cameras, have steadily shrunk in size, reports of "orbs" increased accordingly. As cameras became smaller, the distance between the lens and the built-in flash also shrank, decreasing the angle of reflection back into the lens.

There are a number of naturalistic causes for orbs in photography and videography.
Solid orbs - Dry particulate matter such as dust, pollen, insects, etc.
Liquid orbs - Droplets of liquid, usually water, e.g. rain.
Foreign material on the camera lens
Foreign material within the camera lens
Foreign material within the camera body

A solid orb, or dust orb, is created because a reflective solid airborne particle, such as a dust particle, is situated near the camera lens and outside the Depth of field, in other words out of focus. The pinpoint of light reflected from the dust particle that would be seen if it were at the Hyperfocal distance (the distance from the film or CCD to the object being photographed wherby the object is in focus as accurately as possible) grows into a Circle of confusion with increasing distance from i

A liquid orb is created because a drop of liquid, most often a rain drop, is situated near the camera lens and outside the Depth of field, in other words out of focus. The pinpoint of light reflected from the drop of liquid that would be seen if it were at the Hyperfocal distance (the distance from the film or CCD to the object being photographed whereby the object is in focus as accurately as possible) grows into a Circle of confusion with increasing distance from it. The appearance of the Circle of confusion is modified by aberrations such as Chromatic aberration or Coma.

Spirit Orbs are sometimes claimed to exist more densely around certain haunted regions, or to be the spirits of departed loved ones. These types of orbs are sometimes claimed to have faces, sometimes with discernable expressions and sometimes of recognizable persons. Some feel the size of an orb indicates how great of an impact a life force had in its life time.

Another view of spirit orbs holds that they are non-human spirits, with blue and red orbs symbolizing angels and the devil respectively. (Another interpretation of colors in orbs is sex differentiation - blue for male spirits, and red for female.)

Spirit orbs are also felt by some to be curious, friendly protectors, particularly of children. Belief in these "orb friends" is reminiscent of the belief in fairies in the early part of the previous century.

The paranormal belief in orbs is not so straightforward as those who believe that they are simply photographic artifacts. While an oft-encountered quote is "orbs are considered by some people to be the simplest and most common form of a disembodied spirit", this concept is not supported by all within the paranormal faction. There are those who maintain that the orbs are caused by:
Ghosts/spirits
Angels/guardian spirits
Aliens
"The Little People" - elves, pixies, fairies
Interdimensional beings
Humans from the future
hitherto unnoticed life forms

Even those "true believers" who steadfastly maintain that orbs are of paranormal origin are often forced to concede that dust may be the cause of most orb photos. A subset of these believers say that they can tell the difference between "dust orbs" and "real" (spirit) orbs, sometimes from a close examination of the image, other times because of how they felt or were acting at the moment the photo was taken. Some true believers say that the orbs respond to spoken requests to appear, move, or appear as different colors.