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Siemens secures turbine supply order for 2.5GW combined-cycle plant in Qatar

German technology giant Siemens has received a turbine supply order from Samsung C&T for a 2.5GW combined-cycle power generating facility in Qatar.

Under the terms of the contract, Siemens will deliver six SGT5-4000F gas turbines, four SST5-4000 steam turbines and ten SGen5-1200A-series generators for the power plant.

The facility is being developed as a part of a complex that also houses an integrated seawater desalination unit.

It is under development by Samsung C&T, along with its consortium partner Hitachi Zosen, in the Umm al Houl Economic Zone in the south of the country.

"In addition to accounting for around 25% of Qatar's installed power generating capacity, the plant will also deliver up to 136 million imperial gallons of potable water a day."
Siemens Power and Gas Division gas turbines and generators business unit CEO Theo Maas said: "This order is yet another indicator of the strong confidence that Middle Eastern countries have in Siemens' technology.

"Thanks to our close collaboration with Samsung C&T right from the very start, this order also reinforces our excellent partnership with our partner and the customer."

http://www.power-technology.com/news/newssiemens-secures-turbine-supply-order-for-25gw-combined-cycle-plant-in-qatar-4699740

Astronomers Spot A Star Being Ripped Apart By A Black Hole

A team of astronomers has observed stellar debris being flung around a black hole in a (relatively) nearby galaxy. These types of events are called tidal disruptions, and the one reported in this study is the closest detected in the last 10 years.

The galaxy, named PGC 043234, is a small elliptical galaxy about 295 million light-years from the Milky Way. The scientists witnessed the consequences of a star passing too close to a central black hole within PGC 043234; the strong gravitational forces around the black hole shredded the star apart, sucking most of the material beyond the event horizon (the point of no return around a black hole) while flinging some of it outwards into a wider orbit around the black hole.

The tidal disruption was first observed in optical light by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), then quickly followed with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, NASA's Swift Gamma-ray Burst Explorer and the ESA's XMM-Newton satellite.

Materials around black holes tend to have a strong X-ray signature. As the stellar material falls towards the black hole, it forms an “accretion disk”; the acceleration and the friction within the disk, due to the immense gravitational pull, is enough to generate a substantial amount of X-rays. The accretion disk can reach temperatures of 10 million degrees, according to some studies.

http://www.iflscience.com/space/astronomers-saw-star-ripped-apart-black-hole

Astronomers Spot A Star Being Ripped Apart By A Black Hole A team of astronomers has observed stellar debris being flung around a black hole in a (relatively) nearby galaxy. These types of events are called tidal disruptions, and the one reported in this study is the closest detected in the last 10 years.

Rare Double Star System Seen In Final Death Throes Before It Explodes

An incredible stellar system has been found where two stars are so close that their surfaces are overlapping. It is the hottest and most massive double star system ever seen, and provides a rare glimpse into what is believed to be a relatively brief cosmic event.

The system is known as VFTS 352, found 160,000 light-years away in the Tarantula Nebula by the European South Observatory's Very Large Telescope. Both of the stars are nearly identical in size, with a combined mass 57 times greater than the Sun, meaning one is not sucking material from the other – rather, they are likely sharing 30% of their material. This has led to a “bridge” forming between their two connected surfaces.

The two stars, classed as O-type stars that shine blue-white, have surface temperatures of more than 40,000 degrees Celsius (72,000 degrees Fahrenheit), and complete an orbit of each other in just one Earth day. Double systems like this may be the main source of certain elements such as oxygen in the universe.

Their centers are separated by a mere 12 million kilometers (7.5 million miles), and the intense tidal forces (the gravitational pull of one star on the other) are thought to be mixing the material in their interiors. “The VFTS 352 is the best case yet found for a hot and massive double star that may show this kind of internal mixing,” said lead author Leonardo Almeida from the University of São Paulo, Brazil in a statement. “As such it’s a fascinating and important discovery.”

http://www.iflscience.com/space/rare-double-star-system-seen-final-death-throes-it-explodes

Rare Double Star System Seen In Final Death Throes Before It Explodes An incredible stellar system has been found where two stars are so close that their surfaces are overlapping. It is the hottest and most massive double star system ever seen, and provides a rare glimpse into what is believed to be a relatively brief cosmic event.