Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The results are in!
In 2023, NOAA Ocean Exploration found a "golden orb" in the deep ocean near Alaska. The orb fascinated experts and the public, inspiring many guesses about what it could be.
After collection, our team sent the orb to NOAA Fisheries' National Systematics Laboratory, located at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. There, scientists discovered that the orb was once part of the base of a giant deep-sea anemone.
Read the whole story on the NOAA website: noaa.gov/news/scientists-reveal-identity-of-mysterious-golden-orb-collected-during-noaa-expedition
The NOAA website article above also includes an opportunity to register for an April 30 webinar to hear Allen Collins, Ph.D., discuss the golden orb and other discoveries from NOAA Ocean Exploration's 2023 Seascape Alaska expeditions.
The results are in!
In 2023, NOAA Ocean Exploration found a "golden orb" in the deep ocean near Alaska. The orb fascinated experts and the public, inspiring many guesses about what it could be.
After collection, our team sent the orb to NOAA Fisheries' National Systematics Laboratory, located at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. There, scientists discovered that the orb was once part of the base of a giant deep-sea anemone.
Read the whole story on the NOAA website: noaa.gov/news/scientists-reveal-identity-of-mysterious-golden-orb-collected-during-noaa-expedition
The NOAA website article above also includes an opportunity to register for an April 30 webinar to hear Allen Collins, Ph.D., discuss the golden orb and other discoveries from NOAA Ocean Exploration's 2023 Seascape Alaska expeditions.
