The now two-and-a-half-year-old mystery of the "golden orb," an unidentified object that captured significant public interest when it was collected during a 2023 NOAA expedition, has finally been solved.Scientists have determined that
The now two-and-a-half-year-old mystery of the "golden orb," an unidentified object that captured significant public interest when it was collected during a 2023 NOAA expedition, has finally been solved.
Scientists have determined that the mysterious golden mass, discovered at a depth of 3,250 meters (over 2 miles) in the Gulf of Alaska, is a remnant of the dead cells that formed at the base of a giant deep-sea anemone, Relicanthus daphneae. It was the part of the anemone that attached to the rock substrate.
During NOAA Ocean Exploration expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, it’s common for scientists to find organisms they don't immediately recognize. Most of the time, these mysteries are solved quickly as members of the scientific community chat and pool their knowledge. However, some discoveries turn into real puzzles — like in the case of the “golden orb.”
The backstory
In 2023, during an expedition in the Gulf of Alaska, remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer (launched from Okeanos Explorer) was exploring at a depth of over two miles when it encountered a strange, golden, mound-shaped object with a hole in it, stuck to a rock. Scientists were puzzled. Was it an egg case? A dead sponge? Had something
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