Mysterious 'Golden Orb' Recovered Nearly Two Miles Below the Gulf of Alaska Baffles Scientists

During the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Seascape Alaska 5 expedition in August 2023, researchers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer recovered an unusual, smooth, golden-brown sphere from a seamount more than 10,500 feet beneath the Gulf of Alaska. The roughly four-inch (≈10 cm) object—nicknamed the "golden orb"—appeared soft and organic, with a single circular opening and a thin, malleable surface.

How It Was Found

High-resolution cameras on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) first spotted the orb perched on a rocky ledge carpeted with pale sponges. When the ROV approached, the pilot probed the object with the vehicle's seven-function manipulator arm. The contact revealed a skin-like tissue that did not rupture, which convinced the team to attempt collection.

Recovery and On-Deck Examination

The crew used a suction sampler—a device that draws small biological or sediment samples into a chamber under negative pressure—to retrieve the dome-shaped specimen without damaging it. Once brought on deck, specialists confirmed the object was biological. However, it lacked obvious diagnostic features: no skeleton, no spines and no immediately recognizable tissue structures could be identified by eye.

"It felt like the beginning of a horror movie," one researcher said, describing the orb's eerie symmetry and lifelike texture.

Possible Explanations and Unanswered Questions

Scientists have proposed several hypotheses, including that the orb might be an unusual sponge, a coral-related structure, or an atypical egg casing. None of these theories fully match the observed characteristics, and no DNA results have been publicly released to clarify its identity. Without genetic analysis or additional diagnostic tests, researchers cannot say whether the orb represents a known species, an unknown life stage, or a novel organism.

Why It Matters

The discovery underscores how much of the deep ocean remains unexplored and how modern imaging and sampling technologies are expanding our ability to document remote habitats. Finds like the golden orb highlight both the mysteries that still lie on the seafloor and the need for careful laboratory analyses—including DNA sequencing and microscopic tissue examinations—to reach definitive answers.

Current status: Specimen collected and under study; public DNA or lab results have not been released at the time of reporting.