Scientists reveal identity of mysterious ‘golden orb’ collected during NOAA expedition

A close up image of the “golden orb” in the lab of the Smithsonian Institution. Following collection, the orb sample was officially accessioned as part of the Invertebrate Zoology Collection offsite link at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. The museum catalogs, curates and makes biological samples collected during expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer publicly available. The orb is USNM_IZ_1699903 offsite link within the museum collection. (Image credit: NOAA Fisheries)