New Delhi:
Indian-Bitish astronomer Dr. Nikku Madhusudan and his team at Cambridge University have identified the potential signs of alien life on a distant planet called K2-18B. With the help of NASA’s James Web Space Telescope (JWST), the team detected the presence of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and Dimethyl Dyulfide (DMDS) gases, which are particularly worth noting, as they are produced by seaweeds present in the sea.
Who is Dr. Nikku Madhusudan?
Born in 1980 in India, Dr. Madhusudan from Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, Varanasi to B.Tech. Got the degree. Later, he did a master’s degree as well as a Master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2009, his PhD thesis was about studying the atmosphere of the planets outside our solar system, which is called Extrasolar planet.
After PhD, he served several positions as a postdorter researcher at MIT, Princeton University and Yale University, where he was the YCAA Award PostDector Fellow. In 2013, he joined the University of Cambridge and worked as a university lecturer in astronomy for four years. He was promoted as a reader in astronomy physics and exoplanetary science in 2017. He currently works as a professor of astronomy physics and exoplanetary science.
Dr. Madhusudan did research on hysterine planets
Dr. Nikku Madhusudan did research on hysterine planets, which are considered to be the best class of planets for looking for life. The atmosphere of hydrin planets is filled with hydrogen, and there are oceans below it. Dr. Madhusudan’s research includes his atmosphere, interiors and studies of his construction. His work also includes the discovery of hycin world, sub-napachune and bioscnecular. He also works on radiative transfer, planetary chemistry and atmospheric retrieval methods for exoplanets with the help of HST, JWST and large ground-based telescopes.
In 2012, he studied a planet called 55 Cancri E, which is larger than the Earth, and suggested that its inner part could be carbon -rich. In 2014, he led a team, which measured the water level in three warm passions and found less water than expected. In 2017, he was part of the team that detected titanium oxide in the atmosphere of the WASP-19B planet. In 2020, he studied K2-18B and found that water could be present on its surface.
Dr. Madhusudan has been honored with many awards
Dr. Madhusudan has also been honored with several awards, such as EAS MERAC Award in theoretical Astronomy (2019), Pilkington Award (2019) for Excellence in Teaching, IUPAP Youth Scientist Medal (2016) in Astronomy and ASI Venu Bapu Gold Medal (2014).