A blue star, named HD 101065 or V816 Cen, with an extremely
peculiar chemical composition and spectral features.
Although the star has a surface temperature very close to that of stars with solar
chemical composition, it displays some abundance anomalies typical of much hotter
→ Ap stars. The spectrum is dominated by a group of lines of
→ lanthanides, while in the spectra of normal stars with similar
temperature the absorption lines of neutral elements from the iron
group are predominant. The lanthanides may have abundances 103-104
times solar. The spectrum of Przybylski’s star also shows the presence of
radioactive → rare earth elements, such as
→ promethium and → technetium.
Moreover, there are
numerous strong absorption lines which defy identification. In some
spectrum regions unidentified lines are more numerous than known
lines. It is also a → roAp star
(see, e.g., Gopka et al. 2008, Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies
Vol. 24, No. 2, 89).
See also: Named after its discoverer, Antoni Przybylski (1961, Nature 189, 739).
