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A mysterious golden " orb " found at the bottom of the ocean during a inquiry outing is " biological in descent " — but scientists have no mind what it is .

" While we were able to compile the ' golden orb ' and bring it onto the ship , we still are not able to identify it beyond the fact that it is biological in origin,“Sam Candio , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) Ocean Exploration military expedition coordinatorsaid in a statement .

a gold shaped object held in a hand with a blue glove

The gold-colored object was brought to the surface after being spotted during an expedition in the Gulf of Alaska.

" While somewhat humbling to be stump by this determination , it serves as a monitor of how small we know about our own planet and how much is leave to read and apprize about our ocean . "

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The strange , dome - shaped object was found about 2 mile ( 3,300 measure ) beneath the ocean open on a seamount ( subaqueous raft ) in the Gulf of Alaska . It is about 4 in ( 10 cm ) wide . There looks like a small hollow near the base , and scientists initially thought it could be an egg causa or some sort of dead sponge fond regard . But after bringing the golden object to the surface , researchers were leave dumbfound .

a strange golden object on a bed of rock on the seafloor

Researchers are now planning to carry out laboratory analysis on the object to find out what it is.

The squad is now trying to work out if the orb is connect with a love species , a new species or represents a antecedently unsung stage of life . " We likely wo n’t learn more until we are capable to get it into a laboratory setting where we can continue to tear from the collective expertise of the scientific community with more sophisticated tools than we are able to conserve on the ship , " Candio said .

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TheNOAA Seascape Alaskaexpedition that found the orb is a mission to learn more about the relatively unidentified deepwater off the shore of Alaska . The team contrive to represent the region and learn more about the creatures — know and unknown — that inhabit these waters .

" New mintage have the potential to give away young sources for aesculapian therapies and vaccines , food , energy , and other societal benefits and knowledge , " Candio say . " Collectively , the data and information gather during this expedition will help us tight gaps in our discernment of this part of the planet , so we can better manage and protect it . "

An orange sea pig in gloved hands.

A scuba diver descends down a deep ocean reef wall into the abyss.

an illustration of two stars colliding in a flash of light

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a top down image of a woman doing pilates on a reformer machine