Mike Wheatland
@manicule.bsky.social
Professor in physics and Deputy Dean in Science at the University of Sydney. Solar astrophysicist and owner of spinning things. Views expressed here are my own.
New images of the Sun so detailed you can almost see its face! Textbook Kelvin–Helmholtz instability patterns in images with resolution of ~20 km. With quotes from @manicule.bsky.social and @hannahschunker.bsky.social www.abc.net.au/news/science... ☄️ ⚛️ 🔭 🧪
We've never seen the Sun in this much detail before
The highest-resolution imagery of the Sun's surface ever taken reveals dizzying currents, and clues about our star's magnetic fields.
abc.net.au
The final version of our Dawes Review on the Dynamic Radio Sky is now published! doi.org/10.1017/pasa... Everything you need to know about what causes radio transients: how we detect them, the history of radio transient surveys, and what new widefield radio telescopes will do. #RadioAstronomy 🔭☄️🧪
We are offering 4 PhD scholarships in #physics and #astronomy topics @sydney.edu.au Including: * FRBs with @manishacaleb.bsky.social * Quantum critical points with @domwilliamson.bsky.social * Nanostructured materials with @boriskuhlmey.bsky.social www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships... ⚛️ 🔭 ☄️ 🧪
Physics Foundation Scholarship
A stipend scholarship to support PhD students who are undertaking research within School of Physics, Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney.
sydney.edu.au
Excited to announce that we are advertising the Professor Harry Messel Research Fellowship. A 3 year position open to women in any area of #Physics or #Astronomy at the University of Sydney @sydney.edu.au Deadline: 16th November ⚛️ 🔭 ☄️ usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com/USYD_EXTERNA...
Professor Harry Messel Research Fellow (Woman only) (PHYSICS)
Full time / Part-time 3 years fixed term, located on the Camperdown Campus at the School of Physics Exciting opportunity to undertake independent research and contribute to the advancement of physics ...
usyd.wd105.myworkdayjobs.com
Ever wonder what happened to that $100 million interstellar spaceship program? Me too. www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
A $100-Million Mission to Another Star Just Disappeared
An abandoned plan to visit another star highlights the perils of billionaire-funded science
scientificamerican.com
Participation in Australian high school #Physics is declining! The proportion of Yr 12 students studying physics fell from 14.9% in 2015 to 12.1% in 2023; gender ratio unchanged. (Luckily this hasn't impacted the number of students studying Physics @sydney.edu.au, but it is a broader issue).
The Australian Institute of Physics@aip.org.au · last yr.The 2025 Year 12 Physics Participation Report Card, released today by AMSI and the AIP, reveals a decline in high school physics enrolments across Australia, and persistent gender gaps. Media release: www.aip.org.au/resources/Do... Full report: www.aip.org.au/resources/Do...
A smartphone is not all that different in shape from a skateboard, in Australia, they are willing to take risks, and so “The mobile phone as a free-rotation laboratory” was born, www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~wheat/paper... (for tl;dr, there is a video via the DOI link). 2/3
physics.usyd.edu.au
The Faculty of Science student awards 2025. Science is amazing and our students are the future which is more amazing still. @sydney.edu.au @sydneyphysics.bsky.social
In an era that is very cynical about higher education, it's great to see students from a range of cultural and educational backgrounds working together, sharing their experiences and recommending books to read. Both on campus and online. (Credit to @manicule.bsky.social and Tristram Alexander)
A terrific Sydney Ideas talk with Katie Mack and Tara Murphy! @sydneyideas.bsky.social @astrokatie.com @taramurphy.bsky.social @sydney.edu.au
This week I helped graduate 165 students (including 24 PhDs, one supervised by me, and 10 university medallists). Congratulations to James and all of the graduates! @sydney.edu.au @sydneyphysics.bsky.social
I am super excited to be hosting the incredible Katie Mack @astrokatie.com presenting "The End of Everything" at the University of Sydney @sydney.edu.au Join us on July 10 to learn about five ways the Universe might die! Registration is free... www.sydney.edu.au/engage/event... ⚛️ #Astronomy ⚛️
Katie Mack: The end of everything
sydney.edu.au
Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens Mount Tomah in Bilpin. Highly recommended! They have giant Redwoods, and so much else.
The yo-yo trick -- which way will it roll? A PHYS1001 demo. @sydney.edu.au @sydneyphysics.bsky.social
A rolling spherical neodymium magnet with a maximum surface field of 8000G. It experiences a torque due to the Earth's magnetic field and does a little dance. #physics
A very interesting new discovery from Iris de Ruiter (our most recent Sydney radio transients / @ozgrav.bsky.social group member)! A new long period radio transient, which turns out to be an unsual white dwarf - cool dwarf binary system theconversation.com/mysterious-r... #RadioAstronomy
White dwarf and red dwarf duo emit radio pulses every two hours
An international team of astronomers led by scientists from the Netherlands has shown that a white dwarf and a red dwarf orbiting each other every two hours are emitting radio pulses. Thanks to observ...
phys.org
A lecture demonstration from the PHYS1001 lecture today @sydneyuni.bsky.social @sydneyphysics.bsky.social
We're advertising a continuing position in the School of Physics at Sydney! Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Theoretical Optics & Photonics Deadline April 3rd usyd.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/USYD_EXTERNA... Base Salary Level B/C, $122,830 - $173,492 p.a + 17% superannuation #Physics #AcademicSky
Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Theoretical Optics & Photonics
Full time, continuing position. Located on the Camperdown Campus at the School of Physics Exciting opportunity to join the leading physics department in the country, with outstanding staff and student...
usyd.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
Lecture 1 in PHYS1001 for 2025. A great turn out with 300+ students. I am explaining the Tippe Top and the Euler disk. @sydneyuni.bsky.social @sydneyphysics.bsky.social youtu.be/Bf82WQaLQD8
PHYS1001 Lecture 1 extract
YouTube video by Mike Wheatland
youtu.be
A packed Faculty of Science Welcome Week event at the Seymour Centre today -- wonderful to meet the new students @sydneyuni.bsky.social
Another solargraph -- the path of the Sun on the sky captured with a pinhole camera (the @solarcan.bsky.social Puck).
Another solargraph. The @solarcan.bsky.social Puck was attached to my skylight but it got rained on heavily and I think some water got in. And it was pointed too low, the skylight is angled south. The Sun has skimmed the top.
Solargraphy with the Solarcan Puck: an image of the path of the Sun on the sky. Also an image of the view it was looking at. #solarcan @solarcan.bsky.social
First day back at work, time for a flashback... Check out this video for the School of Physics (@sydneyuni.bsky.social) from 1977, the year I was born...! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg61... "They often use large computers to check their theories..." ⚛️ #physics #astronomy ⚛️
1977 School of Physics Research
YouTube video by School of Physics - The University of Sydney
youtube.com
#Physics #art 3 - Today's piece is "The Tippe Top", by Mike Wheatland (@manicule.bsky.social) with photography by Jayne Ion. Mike is a solar physicist who also looks at how to demonstrate interesting features of mechanical and dynamic systems for undergraduate research students.
Last weekend I helped graduate about 700 Sydney University students in Beijing. It was wonderful to meet the students and their families. @sydneyuni.bsky.social
