Black Hole Winds, Waterworld Planet Discovered by NASA: Rare Pictures of 5 Other Recent Space Discoveries [PHOTOS]

By Michael Billera
February 23, 2012 3:08 AM EST

Black Hole Winds, Waterworld Planet Discovered by NASA: Rare Pictures of 5 Other Recent Space Discoveries [PHOTOS]

NASA has had a big week!


Record breaking space winds emitting from a black hole and a new "waterworld planet"  were reportedly discovered in deep space this week.


Scientists from the University of Michigan have discovered something amazing in space. After analyzing satellite images, scientists have discovered the fastest measured winds to be observed from a stellar-mass black hole.


"It's a surprise this small black hole is able to muster the wind speeds we typically only see in the giant black holes," said co-author Jon M. Miller, according to a press release. "In other words, this black hole is performing well above its weight class."


The wind were clocked in at an astounding 20 million m.p.h. using NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory. These record-breaking winds will are ten times faster than anything researchers have seen from a stellar-mass black hole. The discovery will have important implications in understanding the cosmic object.


Also discovered was a so-called "waterworld planet" dubbed GJ1214b.


"GJ1214b is like no planet we know of," said Zachary Berta of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in a statement. "A huge fraction of its mass is made up of water."


The planet is estimated to have a temperature of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, but the internal structure is anyone's guess.


Click through the slideshow to view more astounding discoveries from NASA.

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