Solar wind · Radio occultation · Planetary plasma
Keshav Aggarwal
Student visitor, Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
I study the solar wind and its interaction with planetary bodies using spacecraft radio signals. A signal that crosses the solar corona, the interplanetary medium or a planetary ionosphere acquires frequency and amplitude fluctuations set by the electron density along its path. From these fluctuations I derive solar wind speed, coronal electron density and plasma turbulence parameters, using data from the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission, Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3, Akatsuki and Venus Express.
I submitted my PhD thesis, Exploring space weather and its effect on planetary atmospheres using radio occultation, in May 2026 under the supervision of Prof. Abhirup Datta. The work was funded by the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF), awarded in October 2023.
During my M.Sc. I joined the JWST Transiting Exoplanet Community Early Release Science team and am a co-author on nine of its papers, including the first identification of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere. I write about astronomy on Medium, post videos on YouTube and run public outreach at IIT Indore.
Recent
PublicationsResearch interests
Research- Solar wind and coronaSpeed and density from radio spectral broadening
- Interplanetary mediumIts contribution to planetary occultation signals
- Lunar plasma environmentTurbulence in the solar wind and magnetotail
- Planetary ionospheresMars, Venus and the Moon
- Exoplanet atmospheresJWST transmission and emission spectroscopy