A strange ‘golden egg’ has been found on the sea floor off Alaska
Researchers exploring the ocean depths off the coast of Alaska recently made a puzzling discovery while driving a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). As part of the Seascape Alaska 5 expedition, they stumbled upon a mysterious golden orb at the bottom of the sea, and no one was quite sure what it was.
A journey thousands of meters below the surface has revealed all kinds of strange discoveries, from eerie yellow brick roads to bizarre Mariana Trench animals. They say we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the depths of the sea, and when scientists stumble upon the mysterious golden eggs, it sure looks like it.
The bright spot was spotted at a depth of 3.1 kilometers (two miles), and is embedded on a rocky surface. Even more intriguing, the mysterious object had a hole in it, which inspired one of the researchers to say during the live broadcast: “Something tried to get in…or get out,” the Miami Herald reported.
Comedy robot arm – that Teletubbies Fans sure look like Noo-Noo got a job as a marine biologist – and he’s been used to investigating the golden orb up close. And at another point in the livestream, researchers are able to accurately hollow out a stack of strange disks embedded in a seawall, demonstrating the incredible control they have while manipulating the environments of the deep sea remotely.
The unknown object is believed to be either a dead piece of sponge, some kind of coral, or an egg case.
Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration
Another member of the expedition team said, “I just hope when we prick him that something doesn’t come out.” “It’s like the beginning of a horror movie.”
Working theories suggest it could be a shiny eggshell or the remains of some kind of sponge, but they don’t have definitive answers yet. Identifying the mysterious orb would require close examination, and luckily the remotely operated Noo-Noo device was able to suck up the sample.
While a lot of mystery surrounds the object’s identity, one thing we can be sure of is that it is definitely a deep-sea alien.
Another team member said: “When our collective knowledge can’t identify it, it’s strange.”
Even after it was brought on board, NOAA told IFLScience that their scientists still weren’t sure what the orb was.
Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration
Seascape Alaska 5 launched on Aug. 23, as it snaked through the waters of Kodiak, Alaska, to Seward. The expedition team focuses on marine habitats less than 200 meters (656 feet) deep, and up to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) deep, mapping the environment as they move.
the goal? Best of all, NOAA said, “to explore deep-sea coral and sponge habitats, fish habitats, chemosynthetic communities, and the water column, and to improve knowledge of past and potential geological hazards.” You can mark along. “Thanks to telepresence technology, anyone with an Internet connection is invited to watch and listen as members of the scientific community actively participate and direct each dive.”
Visit the NOAA Seascape Alaska 5 website to access the live broadcast of the mission.
(H/T: The Economic Times)
This article has been updated to include more photos of the mysterious object.
