Scientists Identify Mysterious 'Golden Orb'

In 2023, a deep-sea NOAA expedition discovered a mysterious, unidentified "golden orb" two miles underwater in the Gulf of Alaska.

Deep Discoverer, a remotely controlled vehicle, came across the "strange, golden, mound-shaped object with a hole in it, stuck to a rock" - during its expedition. The "golden orb" gained some serious public interest as scientists were unable to identify the objest.

The orb was eventually sent to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for further examination.

Now almost three years later, scientists have identified the object.

The "golden orb" 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," according to an official statement from the NOAA.

Solving this mystery took multiple years and a lot of combined brain power.

Allen Collins, the director of NOAA Fisheries' National Systematics Laboratory, explained the complexity of identifying the "golden orb."

"We work on hundreds of different samples and I suspected that our routine processes would clarify the mystery," Collins said. "But 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."

Captain William Mowitt, acting director of NOAA Ocean Exploration, pointed out the fact that the deep sea still contains countless mysteries. And with continued technological advancements, those mysteries will continue to unravel.

"So often in deep ocean exploration, we find these captivating mysteries, like the ‘golden orb'. With advanced techniques like DNA sequencing, we are able to solve more and more of them," Mowitt said. "This is why we keep exploring - to 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."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 5:42 PM.