Dr. Sean Brittain has long had a penchant for new
experiences. When he was 18, he ventured halfway
across the country, from Virginia Beach to LeTourneau
University, for the experience of being
somewhere different. He decided to pursue astronomy during graduate school
after receiving a bachelor's in chemistry, a jump between relatively different fields. Now, he’s one of the first
individuals in the world to observe and
track the formation of a planet.
Brittain, a professor of astronomy and physics in Clemson University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy,
graduated from LETU in 1997 with a degree in chemical physics. Then, in graduate school at the University of
Notre Dame, he made what he refers to as “crazy shift” in areas of study.
He began working with faculty studying the organic chemistry
of comets, which morphed into studying the chemistry of disks around young
stars. The trajectory of his research did
not, however, stop there.
“As projects do,” Brittain said, “our focus started to morph a bit, and my interest became in trying to
answer the question: ‘how did the planets themselves form
in these disks?’”
He and the Notre Dame faculty took
their initial research and applied it to the
theory that planets form from the disks around stars. Brittain explains that
planets are formed by grain-like material that sticks together, eventually
growing into a larger mass – like 'giant dust bunnies'.
“If they get large enough, they collapse in under their own
weight and start sweeping up gas out of the disk and start forming planets," he said. "That’s the idea, at least, but
it hadn’t ever been observed before.”
Upon graduating from Notre Dame, Brittain was awarded the
two-year postdoctoral Michaelson Fellowship – now called
the Sagan Fellowship – with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory
(NOAO). There, he continued his studies on disks of stars and monitored his
observations long-term.
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| NOAO's Gemini telescope |
After years of ongoing research, Brittain and his team were
given the chance to utilize NOAO’s Gemini telescope in
Hawaii, which was no small feat in and of itself. NOAO telescopes are shared by multiple countries due to cost – typically $80-100 million to build one telescope. Not to mention, operation
can cost up to six figures per night. In order to gain access to such a limited and sought after resource, research groups must submit proposals for approval to receive the
opportunity to use it. Brittain was granted approval on
multiple occasions.
Brittain explains how this led to a first in astronomy
history, known as HD100546 – the first star to ever be observed forming into a planet:
“We made a hypothesis that this was a planetary-type orbit.
By that point, the project had gone on for about a decade. We took our data
and, sure enough, we had this gas that’s in a planetary orbit around the star.
It turned out to be the size we expect for disks to be forming around planets. This
is the first time we’ve been able to see a forming planet. The disk around it
will eventually become its moon and,
finally, it will be something more massive than
Jupiter. It could be anywhere from five to 40 times the mass of Jupiter. It’s
going to be a big thing.”
Brittain says this project took the ability to ask questions
with confidence or, as he puts it, to “be curious and
have that curiosity cultivated.” It’s a quality he says he gained as a student
at LeTourneau and credits low student-to-teacher ratio.
“When you have small classes, you get a chance to interact
with faculty, and the faculty get a chance to respond to you in a way they
wouldn’t if you’re sitting in a lecture hall with 200 other people,” he said.
“I had lots of opportunities to do research early on at
LeTourneau, so I came into grad school ready to do hands-on work. I took that
with me when I went to Notre Dame, which prepared me to make the shift from
chemistry as an undergrad to astrophysics as a PhD student. I had the
confidence to do that. Even though I moved to a different area in my PhD
program, the skill set that I gained at LeTourneau was extraordinarily
valuable.”
Seeing the outcome of HD100546 would be phenomenal. The timeline, however, is currently
estimated at one million years for it to become a full-fledged planet. For now,
LETU is more than satisfied that one of its own accomplished such an incredible
discovery.
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