Orb
In UFO/UAP reports, an orb is a spherical object that glows or has a metallic sheen; it may be a genuine sighting, but it is often a photographic artifact or a known object.
An orb (in Hungarian: gömb, fénygömb) is a collective term in UFO/UAP literature for spherical or circular phenomena that glow or have a metallic shine. Orbs appear in eyewitness accounts as well as in photos and videos. According to the reports, their size can range from palm-sized to several meters, but without a known distance such size estimates are unreliable.
What proponents claim
According to some accounts, orbs are controlled objects that display unusual flight behavior. Spherical objects also feature in US military reports and in footage that has been made public. In 2023, the then head of AARO told the Senate that the sphere is the most commonly described shape in incoming UAP reports, and footage of a metallic sphere recorded by a military drone over the Middle East was also shown. Some researchers interpret these as evidence of the UAP phenomenon. In the paranormal tradition, the orb is a broader concept: it is also associated with spirits or forms of energy.
Official and skeptical positions
According to official analyses, such as the reports of AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office), a significant share of spherical UAP reports can be identified, or cannot be evaluated for lack of further data. According to skeptics, the "dust orbs" that appear in photos are typically out-of-focus dust particles, insects or water droplets lit by the flash. This is the phenomenon of backscatter, which is especially common where the flash sits right next to the lens, for example on phones. In other cases, balloons, drones, birds, lens flare or light reflected off aircraft are behind them.
Why the term matters
The orb is a key term because it is one of the most common and most easily misinterpreted shapes in UAP sightings. The question is always whether a given recording shows a phenomenon backed by measurable, independent data, or merely an optical or environmental effect.
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