This Strange “Golden Orb” Found 2 Miles Deep Stumped Scientists for Years

Scientists identified a mysterious deep-sea “golden orb” from the Gulf of Alaska as dead base tissue from the giant anemone Relicanthus daphneae.

The sample was collected in 2023 at 3,250 meters during NOAA’s Seascape Alaska 5 expedition aboard the Okeanos Explorer.

DNA testing, microscopy, and museum comparisons helped solve a long-standing deep-ocean biology mystery.

The finding shows how combined field exploration and archival research can reveal what unfamiliar seafloor samples really are.