What Is A Gazing Ball?
A gazing ball is a highly polished sphere, originally made of glass but now often from metals such as stainless steel, copper and chrome. They are usually used as garden ornaments and frequently mounted on special stands (though they are sometimes simply placed on the ground, most often the lawn). So why would anyone buy one? Because the highly polished sphere gives an interesting reflection of the garden with a distorted view reminiscent of a fisheye lens. As such it can make an unusual decoration and talking point. Photographers also sometimes like to take pictures of the surface of the sphere. Some modern globes you can buy are illuminated, often using solar power and/or fibre optics.
