Przybylski’s star or HD 101065 is considered the strangest star in the Universe due to its rare chemical composition. Even more, recent observations showed that this weird star also possesses bizarre rotation characteristics.
The Przybylski’s star was discovered in 1960. Since then, the astronomers have been fascinated by the star’s unique chemical composition, formed by extremely rare elements.
According to this recent report, some of the observations made by the experts from the Astrophysics Institute in Potsdam, in Germany, have unveiled that HD 101065 is both composed of strange chemicals and possess equally bizarre rotation characteristics.
The Przybylski’s star or HD 101065 makes a full rotation around its own axis in about two centuries
With the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher, located within the Chilean ESO telescope facility, the researchers analyzed the magnetic field of the star and its rotation period.
The results of the study indicate that this star is able to perform a complete rotation around its own axis in about two centuries.
”Our analysis suggests that this star’s rotation is extremely slow,” said the astronomers in their report. They estimated that the star performs a complete rotation around its own axis once every 188 years.
The rare chemical composition of the Przybylski’s star still baffles the scientists
According to astronomers, the star’s long rotation makes this space object a so-called Ap Star. An Ap Star is that type of stars which possesses rare chemical composition and presents a slow rotation around its own axis.
Ap Stars are considered very special because scientists cannot detect all the types of the chemicals found in their composition by analyzing the star’s spectrum.
In the case of HD 101065, there are unusual amounts of iron and nickel, as well as rare elements such as strontium, cesium, and neodymium, among others. Also, the so-called Przybylski’s star, dubbed as the strangest star in the Universe, is the only star which contains the extremely rare elements called actinides.
