What Was the Mysterious Golden Orb Found on the Ocean Floor?

The Golden Orb Identified

The mysterious golden orb discovered on the Alaskan seafloor in 2023 was identified as the detached basal disc of Relicanthus daphneae, a rare deep-sea organism related to sea anemones. What appeared to be an alien object was, in fact, a fragment of a known — though rarely encountered — species.

The Discovery That Stopped Scientists Cold

During NOAA’s 2023 Seascape Alaska 5 expedition, a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was conducting surveys roughly two miles beneath the surface of the Gulf of Alaska when it captured footage of a small, glowing, amber-colored sphere resting motionless on the seafloor. Scientists watching the live feed were immediately baffled. The orb was approximately four inches in diameter — about the size of a tennis ball — and emitted a vivid golden sheen unlike anything researchers had documented at that depth.

What made the sighting especially extraordinary was its location. Below 3,000 feet, sunlight cannot penetrate the water. Organisms that live in this perpetual darkness are typically colorless, translucent, or pitch black — evolutionary adaptations to an environment where color serves no purpose. A shimmering, warm-toned orb was, by every biological expectation, impossible.

How Scientists Retrieved and Analyzed It

The ROV carefully collected the orb using a suction sampler — a device designed to recover delicate specimens without destroying them. The sample was then transported to the Smithsonian Institution, where researchers conducted a full battery of laboratory analyses, including DNA sequencing and microscopic examination.

The process took time. For nearly three years, the object defied easy classification. Even scientists familiar with deep-sea biodiversity could not immediately place it by visual inspection alone. The texture, the shape, and the color gave no obvious clues in the field.

What Relicanthus daphneae Actually Is

Relicanthus daphneae belongs to a group of organisms called Relicanthidae, which are distantly related to sea anemones and corals within the phylum Cnidaria. They are considered living fossils in some respects — primitive animals that have changed little over millions of years. In their complete form, they anchor to the seafloor using a basal disc and extend long tentacles into the water column to capture food.

What NOAA’s ROV had found was not a whole animal. It was only the base — the attachment structure — left behind after the rest of the organism had been severed or had decomposed. This basal disc, isolated and intact, was what produced the golden color and the smooth, orb-like shape that confused researchers so thoroughly.

Why This Discovery Matters

The confusion surrounding this specimen highlights a fundamental challenge in deep-sea science: researchers often encounter fragments, juveniles, or degraded remains of species rather than intact, living animals. Even when a species is technically known to science, encountering it in an unexpected form — or at an unexpected depth or location — can render it unrecognizable.

The deep ocean covers more than 65 percent of Earth’s surface, yet it remains the least explored habitat on the planet. Scientists estimate that hundreds of thousands of species living below 200 meters have never been formally described. The golden orb was not an unknown creature — but for nearly three years, it may as well have been.

Every expedition into the deep returns with footage, samples, and data that push the boundaries of what marine biology thought it understood. The 2023 Seascape Alaska 5 mission is a reminder that discovery does not always mean finding something entirely new. Sometimes it means finally recognizing something ancient.