While we may typically think of sea stars as hanging out, stationary on the seafloor, this little explorer was caught showing off its moves in the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. Using hundreds of tiny tube feet, it’s cruising along the ocean floor like it’s got somewhere important to be – Friday, maybe? This video was captured during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition. Exploring the deep ocean always reminds us that even the seemingly most uncomplicated creatures

12K views · 285 reactions | Something tranquil as we round out Thursday: Few corals are as recognizable as the beautifully spiral-shaped octocorals in the genus Iridogorgia. These were imaged in 2017 in and around the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. More from the expedition: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1703/logs/photolog/welcome.html | NOAA Ocean Exploration | Facebook

4.2K views · 46 reactions | Today's Hawaiian #wordoftheday: Lei laukī (ti leaf lei) "A beautiful lei laukī adorns NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorerʻs bridge." (Developed for the Beyond the Blue: Papahānaumokuākea Mapping expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer in partnership with NOAA Ocean Exploration, the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and Nautilus Live.) | NOAA Ocean Exploration | Facebook