Our take on orbs, balls of light, found in photos...
Are Orbs Actually Ghosts in Photographs?
Ghosts are spirits of disembodied people who seem to be captured in a variety of ways in photographs. But, the debate rages within paranormal communities: Are orbs ghosts or just dust?
We do see that in some cases, orbs on video appear to exhibit energy and intelligence. Still, when we look at orbs in photos and videos or see them with the naked eye, we should try and find natural explanations, first, before call an orb a ghost. True orbs should emit some light on their own, especially if seen with the naked eye. For example, we have heard reports of people standing in awe as they observed such orbs on the Gettysburg battlefields. Still, we do not know if these orbs are ghosts or spirits for certain; but they are not dust or swamp gas - they are likely plasma.
The Brown Mountain Ghost Light
The Brown Mountain Lights have been seen for decades, but the mystery behind the balls of light has been proven to be orbs made of plasma - the 4th state of matter (and not a solid, gas or liquid). Electrical charges are created during and after rainstorms. As rainwater runs down into the rock, over top of quartz and magnetite, these electrical charges build-up and then, must be released, becoming visible to the human eye as gas-like clouds of free electrons called a "ghost light." This effect was reproduced in the laboratory by Joshua P. Warren and his team of LEMUR.
If orbs such as the Brown Mountain Lights can be proven to be balls of energy, then why couldn't spirit energy manifest the same way? Some orbs captured in photographs cannot be easily explained away, especially when what one might consider to be normal explanations are eliminated as the source (e.g. light reflection, swamp gas, etc.). What we are left with is a paranormal phenomenon that could indicate that orbs may be a real manifestation of spirit energy, possibly, even a person in spirit.
We should not rule out that both ghosts and spirits could possibly appear as orbs if spirits have an "internal light source" (maybe the soul or heart?). If so, spirits may exhibit, in theory, a brighter orb of light when compared to ghosts; the latter maybe exhibiting a shaded, seemingly cloudy orb of light. This is only conjecture at this point but a theory that we are exploring, nonetheless. Some of the photographs of orbs we have received have helped us to understand the orb craze a bit better. Whether it be an orb created by something non-paranormal, or evidence of a true spirit orb, all photographs have assisted us in understanding the orb mystery much better.
What Are Not Real Orbs
We've already shared that electrical discharges from the Earth can create orbs that are plasma and not ghosts. But there are many sources to consider with orb sightings.
You will see in our orb section many photographs of orbs. A lot of these "appear" to be balls of light, but we suspect that some are not real evidence of spirit: the orbs may be caused by fine particulate, close to the camera lens, reflecting light from a light source such as sunlight, a camera's flash unit, or a video camera's IR (Infrared) light. If so, we could call these "dust orbs." Moisture in the air will also create white balls of light (snow, rain, dew, mists, etc.) that are not spirit orbs. Shooting photos into intense light or sunlight can cause lens flare anomalies that may be mistaken for orbs. And light reflecting off of shiny surfaces, such as glass, may also create orb-like effects. None of these orbs are ghosts or spirits.
Swamp gas orbs are usually seen over bogs or marshes where decaying matter resides. It is theorized that methane gas is released and ignited, showing balls of glowing light that are often red in color. This type of orb would not be a ghost or spirit.