This is one of the most controversial questions among paranormal investigators and skeptics alike.  Is an orb some form of a ghost/spirit or nothing more than a natural anomaly caught on a photo or video?  This argument will go on for decades.

I believe that orbs are both.

Natural orbs are caught on film more often than a ghost/spirit orb.  Natural orbs are made up of particles that are floating in the air and when a photo is taken the flash causes this particle to glow and is caught on film as an orb.  Some of the most common particles that cause natural orbs are dust, pollen and water droplets.

The ghost/spirit orb is by far the most common paranormal evidence caught by investigators.  Most investigators feel that a ghost/spirit orb is the energy left behind once someone has died.

It is thought that these ghost/spirit orbs are used for traveling and that in this form the spirit/ghost uses the least amount of energy.  Some investigators feel that an orb is a ghost/spirit that is about to form in to a full apparition.

So how are we to know if the orbs we capture on film are made from natural elements or if they may be a ghost/spirit orb? 

1> Know your surroundings. 

If you just walked through an area that no one has been through in quite some time there is a good chance that you are going to stir up dust and other particles.  Wait a while and give the particles you stirred up a chance to settle before taking photos.  If you are investigating an outside area don’t take photos in any type of precipitation or walk through a bush or other type of foliage and take a photo.  Any of the above mentioned circumstances can and most likely will cause you to have natural orbs in your photos.

2> Know your equipment. 

Go disturb an area deliberately to get the dust and other particles in the air and take a series of photos. 

Go outside on a dry night and shake some leaves, bushes, ect and take a series of photos.

Last wait till there is precipitation (light rain, fog, snow) in the air and take another series of photos.  Now you have a series of “base line photos” on what natural orbs look like when captured by your camera.

Now when you are out investigating and catch an orb you can look at your “base line photos”  and compare them to dismiss any natural orbs.

3> Now that you are paying attention to your surroundings and know your equipment a little better, use some science. 

If you have an E.M.F. reader and you are getting E.M.F. spikes, snap a photo.  Hearing bumps, moans, groans or footsteps?  Snap a photo.  If there is evidence of some type of paranormal happenings going on at the time you snap the photo your chances of catching a spirit/ghost orb are greatly increased.

Here are some tips that I found during a lot of research on detecting a true orb.  As always this is just my opinion.

A true orb should be pretty easy to see.  Since these are nothing more than a collection of energy the orb will show itself as white most of the time but can also show themselves with a green or blue color.  These colors show up more often because of the orbs makeup of energy shows itself on the “cool color spectrum”.

The makeup of a true orb is SOLID with no noticeable border and seems as though it emits its own light, not reflected glare in anyway.

Another great key to being able to detect a true orb is if it has some type of tail or trail.  This would suggest that the orb is moving at a fairly high rate of speed at the time the photo was taken.

Here are some of the easiest ways to tell that the orb you have photographed is not a paranormal orb.

It looks like a cell under a microscope, if it is transparent, if it has a defined border and if it is not circular.

Please use these tips when looking at your photos and trying to decide whether you have captured a paranormal orb.