Internship Diaries: Harshit Krishna on Planetary Models

 Today, we’re excited to hear from a rising star in planetary science, who recently completed an internship at NISER Bhubaneshwar in the Earth and Planetary Science department. With a keen interest in exoplanets and a background in remote sensing, Harshit took on a challenging project that explored the interior structure and evolution of rocky planets. Join us as we delve into their fascinating journey, the skills they gained, and their advice for aspiring interns in the field of astronomy. This conversation is sure to inspire those looking to make their mark in the cosmos!

Question 1: Where did you do your internship? 

Answer: I did my internship at NISER Bhubaneshwar, in the Earth and Planetary Science department. This department is well-known for its research in exoplanets and planet formation, which aligned with my interests. 

Question 2: What made you choose your internship topic? 

Answer: My first-year internship was in remote sensing, where I focused on brushing up my coding skills and learning InSAR. However, this experience didn’t satisfy my passion for astronomy. I wanted to delve deeper into Planetary Remote Sensing and Exoplanets, which led me to Dr. Liton Majumdar at NISER. He offered me a project that was challenging and advanced for a second-year student, but I seized the opportunity.

Question 3: Describe your project briefly.

 Answer: My project was focused on creating an interior structure and evolution model for rocky terrestrial planets. The goal was to determine the structure of such planets using mass and radius observations. I started working on the project in December 2023, while the team lead had been working on it since January 2023, making it a long-term effort. During the summer, we completed the first version of the project, which involved modeling the structure and evolution of the planet. I then used our in-house model to check for oxygen false positivity in Earth-like exoplanets. I ran simulations for scenarios where abiotic oxygen could accumulate in Earth-like planets with varying initial water content, ultimately demonstrating that oxygen alone is not a definitive biosignature. 

Question 4: What new skills did you learn throughout the course of your internship? 

Answer: During my internship, I acquired a deep understanding of Exoplanets, protoplanetary discs, Planetary Science, and Laboratory Astrophysics. My coding skills improved significantly, and I gained detailed knowledge of how solver methods work. 

Question 5: (If your internship was offline) How would you describe your campus?

 Answer: The NISER campus is amazing, especially their in-house ”little mountain” known as the meditation center. The campus also features a roll-off roof Astro observatory that houses two 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes, and a robotics lab equipped with three 3D printers and one resin printer. While the humidity and mess food were slight turnoffs, the aesthetics of the cafeteria more than made up for it. 

Question 6: Did your coursework at IISERM help with your summer project?

 Answer: The course ”Astro 201” helped me get the basics for my summer project. However, the core year courses were not that much of a help, although the major courses are different and may provide more relevant knowledge. 

Question 7: Were there any prerequisites for your internship? If yes, what were they?

 Answer: The main prerequisite for my internship was being comfortable with at least one coding language. 

Question 8: When is a good time to begin applying for summer internships in Astro? How would you advise your juniors to go about doing the same? 

Answer: It’s better to start applying for internships by the start of October. I would advise my juniors to begin their search early and to prepare their application materials well in advance. 

Question 9: Can you share a standout moment from your internship that made you feel like a true astronomer? Perhaps spotting a shooting star or getting to use a super-cool telescope?

Answer: Seeing the setup of NISER's roll-off roof observatory and their 12 inch Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope and being present there to mount the telescope on the observatory was a standout moment definitely.

Question 10: What new skills did you acquire that you never thought you'd need?

Answer: I learned to operate a FPV drone.

Question 11: Were there any unique opportunities that popped up during your internship? Perhaps a chance to  join a research project that’s literally out of this world?

Answer: One unique opportunity was the chance to work on JWST data to model the interior. This opened up avenues to apply the findings from my simulations directly to observational data, which is a rare opportunity for someone at my level of experience​.

Question 12: How did you find your way to this internship?

Answer: It was a slow process involving cold mailing. It certainly helped that I was Dr. Bagla's student.

-- Avni (MS22), Namitha (MS22)