Internship diaries: Aditya Sharma on Gamma Ray Astronomy

Today, we’re excited to feature an aspiring astronomer, Aditya Sharma (MS22045) who recently completed an internship focused on data analysis in gamma-ray astronomy. Their journey took them to an intriguing project involving Bayesian block analysis of blazar data from FermiLAT, pushing the boundaries of their skills and understanding of the universe. Join us as we explore their unexpected challenges, standout moments that ignited their passion for astronomy, and valuable advice for future interns. 

Q1: How did you find your way to this internship? Where did you do your internship and under whom?

Ans: I did my internship under Dr. Pankaj Kuswaha in IISER Mohali itself. I contacted him through institute faculty webpage.

Q2: What were your main goals for this internship?

Ans: The main goal is to generalize this method for 0th order identification of periodicity search by doing Bayesian block analysis of Gamma ray data from FermiLAT of of blazars PKS 0244-470.

Q3: What was the most unexpected task you found yourself doing? Did you end up calculating the trajectory of a comet or making coffee for the team (not literally :) )?

Ans: The most unexpected task was to deal with the Bayesian analysis logic since it was something new to me also there were no exact logics defined for it online.

Q4: 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?

Ans: The moment I was able to compile data and plot the respective graphs was most amazing part. It made me feel as if I am Galileo of my own world.

Q5: What new skills did you acquire that you never thought you'd need?

Ans: I learned FITS handling and furnished my rusty skills in Linux once again. Though I accidentally boot locked my PC.

Q6: How did this experience shape your perspective on the universe (and maybe even your future career)?

Ans: It made me realise modern astronomy is more of data analysis than real exploration, at least in the initial stage of your career. Though once you start to imagine the data you analyse and relate it to real events it really becomes breathtaking.

Q7: If you could give one piece of advice to future interns, what would it be?

Ans: Don't limit yourself and adhere at any particular field. Try to explore as many fields as possible because this will help you to develop new passions and explore broader understanding of world. You might realise that your interests lie in an unexpected direction. So be open minded, curious, and embrace the journey itself not just the goals.

-- Namitha (MS22)