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  • Z orbitals look better from the equator.
  • X/Y orbitals look better from the pole.

What is this?

These are the ways that something spherical and solid can wobble. Each picture is a snapshot where the colour shows which way a part is wobbling and the size of the blob indicates how strongly.

E.g., in 2pz mode, it's mainly the centre that oscillates but the top and bottom halves move in antiphase. In 3pz, there's a small core that moves in antiphase with the rest.

An electron is an example. It's actually simpler than something like a bell that physically moves about, because whereas the movement of some part of a bell is a vector, an electron only needs a +ve or -ve real number*. Nevertheless, the effect of an atomic nucleus is to bend the surrounding space into a bell on which electrons are the vibrations.

* Generally, they need complex numbers, but these are standing waves, so a real will do.

Thanks to Orbitron for the formulae.