MIX-46: Ultra‑High‑Rigor Protocol for Orb Photography

Protocol MIX-46 implements the unified metrological framework of Protocol 9.0 to test the claimed phenomenon of orb photography – the alleged appearance of anomalous globular light artefacts in photographs, sometimes interpreted as evidence of paranormal entities or energies. The primary observable is the frequency and characteristics of circular light anomalies (orbs) in photographs taken under controlled conditions, compared to control photographs (taken in particle‑free environments, without flash, or with known particle sources). The experimental design includes standardised photography protocols (fixed camera settings, flash usage, distance, lighting), controlled particle environments (HEPA‑filtered clean room, controlled introduction of dust/pollen, insect presence), stereo photography for 3D localisation of particles, triple blinding (photographers, judges, and analysts are blind to condition), objective image analysis (morphological feature extraction, machine‑learning classification), multiple independent blind judges to control for pareidolia, comprehensive environmental monitoring, and positive controls (known optical artefacts to validate detection sensitivity). The protocol mandates a pilot phase to calibrate equipment, validate judge agreement, and estimate baseline artefact rates. The primary analysis uses a Linear Mixed Model (LMM) with fixed effects of Condition (active shooting conditions vs. controls), with α = 0.025 (one‑tailed) and power ≥ 0.90 for a small to moderate effect (Cohen's d ≥ 0.10). The sample size is N = 200 independent photographs per condition (baseline, with adaptive increase to N = 300 if pilot shows high variability). Statistical analyses are preregistered, include Bayesian inference (BF₁₀), permutation tests, and multiverse robustness checks (≥70% of 12 forks). The aim is to detect a reproducible orb phenomenon or to establish an upper bound on the effect size with unprecedented rigor.