Spirits? Dust particles? Pollen? Dr. Bruce Maccabee may have the answer.

Many visitors to this site have submitted photographs showing small balls of light commonly referred to in ghost- hunting circles as "orbs." This photographic phenomenon is recent, surpassing the previously prevalent type of ghost photo, the semi-transparent form. The orb photos may be directly tied to changes in photographic technology (including the increasingly widespread use of digital imaging) that allows the cameras to capture small balls, bubbles, or streaking orbs of light in almost every circumstance imaginable, including weddings, cemeteries, family holidays and birthdays, living areas, gardens, historic sites, new houses, and other settings.

A respected paranormal researcher who also has demonstrated one simpler explanation for orb images is Dr. Bruce Maccabee, a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts (BS in physics) and The American University, Washington, D.C. (MS and PhD in physics). His resume includes work at the Naval Surface Warfare Center on optical data processing, generation of underwater sound with lasers and various aspects of the Strategic Defense Initiative and Ballistic Missile Defense using high-power lasers. Maccabee is the author or coauthor of about three dozen technical articles and more than a hundred UFO articles over the last 25 years. He is listed in Who's Who in Technology Today and American Men and Women of Science.

This photograph was taken by a member of the Estonian Ghost Hunters Society in an Estonian cemetery.

Dr. Maccabee's Research Web Site contains a recent research paper in which he reports on various experiments that resulted in orb and streaking orb photos. Maccabee's research shows that the majority of orb photos are dust, hair, or other floating miniscule items. While Maccabee's experiments cannot prove that every orb photo is explainable, it goes a long way toward that end.

What are Dr. Macaabee's thoughts on the newness of the orb phenomenon? ".... Newer photographic equipment is somewhat different from that available in previous decades in (at least) two ways. The first is the proximity of the flash unit to the lens, on the small cameras especially, being only 2 -3 inches away, whereas in decades past the flash units were typically 5 or more inches from the lens. The second is the greater distance over which flash pictures can be taken, a result of increased film sensitivity or 'speed'... The overall increase in sensitivity and flash brightness results in images of objects up to 30 ft from the camera, whereas in the past one was lucky to get a good flash picture at 20 ft (or even as low as 10 ft)."

Maccabbe concludes that, "...This combination of the particular matter close to the lens being more brightly lit and the film (or CCD) being more sensitive in the present decade than it was in past decades accounts for the 'newness' of this phenomenon."

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Ghosts