Dr. Krishnaprasad Chirakkil
Hello! Welcome to my GitHub Pages. I am a Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado Boulder. My research focuses on the upper atmospheres, ionospheres, and exospheres of planets, with a particular interest in Mars, its atmospheric escape, and evolution. I am also greatly interested in heliophysics and space weather. In my leisure time, I enjoy outdoors, traveling, tennis, and biking. My pronouns are he/him/his.
✉️ krishnaprasad.chirakkil@lasp.colorado.edu | 🌐 Website | 📍 Boulder, CO, USA
Education
- Ph.D. Physics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, July 2021
- M.Sc. Physics, National Institute of Technology Calicut, May 2015
- B.Sc. Physics, University of Calicut, May 2013
Research and Teaching Experience
- Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, May 2021 - present
- Visiting Scholar, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, May 2021 - present
- Visiting Researcher, Space and Planetary Science Center, Khalifa University, May 2021 - present
- Research Fellow, Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, June 2016 - April 2021
- Teaching Assistant, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad, July 2015 - June 2016
- Visiting Student, Raman Research Institute, January 2015 - June 2015
- Summer Student, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, May 2014 - July 2014
Publications
My full list of publications can be accessed through Google Scholar.
- L. Soret, B. Hubert, J.-C. Gérard, S. Jain, K. Chirakkil, R. Lillis, J. Deighan (2024), Quantifying the electron energy of Mars aurorae through the oxygen emission brightness ratio at 130.4 and 135.6 nm, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129
- K. Chirakkil, J. Deighan, M. S. Chaffin, S. K. Jain, R. J. Lillis, S. Raghuram, et al. (2024), EMM EMUS observations of hot oxygen corona at Mars: Radial distribution and temporal variability, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 129
- M. S. Chaffin, J. Deighan, S. Jain, G. Holsclaw, H. AlMazmi, K. Chirakkil, et al. (2022), Combined analysis of hydrogen and oxygen 102.6 nm emission at Mars, Geophysical Research Letters, 49
- R. J. Lillis, J. Deighan, D. Brain, M. Fillingim, S. Jain, M. Chaffin, S. England, G. Holsclaw, K. Chirakkil, et al. (2022), First synoptic images of FUV discrete aurora and discovery of sinuous aurora at Mars by EMM EMUS, Geophysical Research Letters, 49
- M. S. Chaffin, C. M. Fowler, J. Deighan, S. Jain, G. Holsclaw, A. Hughes, R. Ramstad, Y. Dong, D. Brain, H. AlMazmi, K. Chirakkil, et al. (2022), Patchy proton aurora at Mars: A global view of solar wind precipitation across the Martian dayside from EMM/EMUS, Geophysical Research Letters, 49
- C. Krishnaprasad, S. V. Thampi, C. O. Lee, S. P. Tadepalli, K. Sankarasubramanian, T. K. Pant (2021), Solar Energetic Particle Events of July 2017: Multi-spacecraft Observations near 1 and 1.5 AU, Earth and Space Science Open Archive
- C. Krishnaprasad, S. V. Thampi, A. Bhardwaj, T. K. Pant, R. S. Thampi (2021), Ionospheric plasma energization at Mars during the September 2017 ICME event, Planetary and Space Science, 205, 105291
- S. V. Thampi, C. Krishnaprasad, G. G. Nampoothiri, T. K. Pant (2021), The Impact of a Stealth CME on the Martian Topside Ionosphere, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 503, 1, 625-632
- C. Krishnaprasad, S. V. Thampi, A. Bhardwaj, C. O. Lee, K. K. Kumar, T. K. Pant (2020), Recurrent Solar Energetic Particle Flux Enhancements Observed near Earth and Mars, The Astrophysical Journal, 902(1), 13
- V. Mukundan, S. V. Thampi, A. Bhardwaj, C. Krishnaprasad (2020), Model calculation of ionization efficiency in the Martian dayside ionosphere using MAVEN observations, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 497, 2, 2239-2249
- V. Mukundan, S. V. Thampi, A. Bhardwaj, C. Krishnaprasad (2020), The dayside ionosphere of Mars: Comparing a one-dimensional photochemical model with MAVEN Deep Dip campaign observations, Icarus, 337, 113502
- C. Krishnaprasad, S. V. Thampi, A. Bhardwaj (2019), On the response of Martian ionosphere to the passage of a corotating interaction region: MAVEN observations, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124, 8, 6998-7012
- S. V. Thampi, C. Krishnaprasad, P. R. Shreedevi, T. K. Pant, A. Bhardwaj (2019), Acceleration of energetic ions in corotating interaction region near 1.5 AU: Evidence from MAVEN, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 880(1), L3
- S. V. Thampi, C. Krishnaprasad, A. Bhardwaj, Y. Lee, R. K. Choudhary, T. K. Pant (2018), MAVEN observations of the response of Martian ionosphere to the interplanetary coronal mass ejections of March 2015, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 123, 8, 6917-6929
Participation
- NASA Heliophysics Summer School, 2020
- NASA SPICE Training Class, 2019
- Ocean Research Expedition (ICARB), 2018
- Winter School on Astroparticle Physics, 2014
Journal Reviewer
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Planetary and Space Science
Memberships
- Science Team Member, Emirates Mars Mission (EMM)
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- European Geosciences Union (EGU)