![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Golden-orb-found-on-deep-sea-floor-NOAA-SWNS.jpg\")
The mysterious \u2018golden orb\u2019 spotted in 2023 by NOAA exploration of ocean floor two miles deep \u2013 NOAA \/ SWNS<\/p>\n The mysterious \u2018golden orb\u2019 spotted in 2023 by NOAA exploration of ocean floor two miles deep \u2013 NOAA \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
The mystery of the \u2018golden orb\u2019 found at the bottom of the ocean has been solved by scientists after two-and-a-half years.<\/p>\n
U.S. researchers from NOAA\u2014the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2014were left confused and excited by the sighting in 2023 made during their Ocean Exploration program.<\/p>\n
During live video footage of the deep sea floor, a member of the Seascape Alaska 5 expedition crew is heard muttering, \u201cIt\u2019s like the beginning of a horror movie\u201d. Another commented, \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure this is how the first episode of the X-Files started.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s common for scientists to find organisms they don\u2019t immediately recognize,\u201d said a NOAA spokesperson in a media statement this week<\/a> about the discovery made by their Okeanos Explorer ship.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the time, these mysteries are solved quickly as members of the scientific community chat and pool their knowledge.\u00a0However, some discoveries turn into real puzzles\u2014like in the case of the \u2018golden orb\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n (Watch the video below with puzzled researchers speculating in real time\u2026)<\/p>\n Finally, however, scientists have determined that the confusing golden mass, discovered over 2 miles deep in the Gulf of Alaska (3,250 meters), is a remnant of the dead cells that formed at the base of a giant deep-sea anemone, Relicanthus daphneae.<\/p>\n \u201cMystery solved: The \u2018golden orb\u2019 is not an egg, a sponge, or remnants of a space alien, but a relic of a deep-sea anemone.\u201d<\/p>\n They believe the bright leftovers were the part of the anemone that attached to the rock substrate.<\/p>\n Because the enigmatic discovery had attracted a lot of speculation and public interest, the team collected the orb using a suction sampler and sent it to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for further examination and study.<\/p>\n \u201cIdentifying the \u2018golden orb\u2019 was a multi-year, complex effort.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a world accustomed to instant gratification, waiting for scientific research to provide answers can be frustrating. But science takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suspected that our routine processes would clarify the mystery,\u201d explained Allen Collins, Ph.D, zoologist and director of NOAA Fisheries\u2019 National Systematics Laboratory, which is physically located within the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.<\/p>\n MYSTERY WHALES: These Rare Whales Had Never Been Seen Alive, Then Scientists Saw Two Near California<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut this turned into a special case that required focused efforts and expertise of several different individuals. This was a complex mystery that required morphological, genetic, deep-sea and bioinformatics expertise to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n Initial DNA barcoding was inconclusive, likely due to picking up DNA from other microscopic life on the specimen. Moving deeper, whole-genome sequencing confirmed animal DNA and contained a large amount of genetic material from the giant deep-sea anemone, according to the paper<\/a> published this week. Sequencing the mitochondrial genomes of both specimens confirmed they were genetically almost identical to a known Relicanthus daphneae reference genome.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this discovery confirms the identity of the previously unknown specimen, the Earth\u2019s deep ocean still holds many secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo often in deep ocean exploration, we find these captivating mysteries, like the \u2018golden orb\u2019.<\/p>\n WOW, LOOK: \u201cWith advanced techniques like DNA sequencing, we are able to solve more and more of them,\u201d said CAPT William Mowitt, acting director of NOAA Ocean Exploration.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why we keep exploring\u2014to unlock the secrets of the deep and better understand how the ocean and its resources can drive economic growth, strengthen our national security, and sustain our planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Watch the NOAA explainer video below\u2026<\/p>\n SHARE THE WONDER With Nature Explorers on Social Media\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The mysterious \u2018golden orb\u2019 spotted in 2023 by NOAA exploration of ocean floor two miles deep \u2013 NOAA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[3292,8039,2699,20194,695,9458,1728,79,24],"class_list":["post-607193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-alaska","tag-discovery","tag-funny","tag-marine-life","tag-mystery","tag-oceans","tag-research","tag-science","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Collecting-mysterious-golden-orb-on-deep-sea-floor-NOAA-SWNS.jpg\")
Collecting the mysterious golden orb on deep sea floor \u2013\u00a0NOAA \/ SWNS
\nA piece of a previously unknown specimen<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Deep-sea-anemone-remnants-NOAA-SWNS.jpg\")
Deep-sea anemone remnants \u2013 NOAA \/ SWNS<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giant-deep-sea-anemone-with-part-circled-\u2013-SWNS.jpg\")
Illustrating where the part is located on giant deep sea anemone \u2013 NOAA \/ SWNS<\/p>\n
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