Greatest Eclipse
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Total Solar Eclipse · Saros 146
2028 Total Solar Eclipse Australia & Aotearoa NZ.
Quick answer: On 22 July 2028, a total solar eclipse crosses the Kimberley, remote central Australia, New South Wales including Sydney, and southern Aotearoa New Zealand. Totality lasts up to about 5 minutes 10 seconds on the centre line; every partial phase requires proper solar eye protection.
Overview
Where to be
Where to be on 22 July 2028.
The Moon's shadow reaches the Kimberley coast of Western Australia late in the morning, crosses the Northern Territory, outback Queensland and inland New South Wales, passes over Sydney at 2:01 p.m. AEST, and ends its run over Otago, where Dunedin gets totality at 4:17 p.m. NZST with the Sun only 8 degrees above the horizon.
The longest totality is in the remote Kimberley, about five minutes on the centre line. Twenty towns and cities now have full guides, from Kununurra and Wyndham in the Kimberley and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory to Wānaka, Cromwell and Ranfurly in Central Otago. Among them, Bourke has the longest, 4 minutes 6 seconds, and the best long-term July cloud record. Sydney gets 3 minutes 48 seconds with a city's transport and hotels. In Queenstown and Dunedin the low Sun means the horizon decides everything.
Every city guide measures its named viewing sites: totality, the Sun's height and the terrain horizon toward it. Some results surprise. Mount Canobolas, the obvious lookout near Orange, gets 59 seconds of totality against 2 minutes 15 at the town's showground, and from Queenstown's Frankton Track the Sun is hidden behind Queenstown Hill. If you live outside the path, the travel guide gives the drive or flight from every capital, and the news page tracks festivals and venue plans as they are announced.
§ 01
The Corridor
A shadow drawn across two countries.
The umbra makes landfall on the Kimberley coast of Western Australia in the late morning, sweeps southeast across the Outback, crosses the Great Dividing Range, and exits over the South Pacific after grazing Aotearoa New Zealand's South Island.
22 JUL 2028 · UMBRAL PATH
SOURCE: NASA GSFC / IERS
15°34.4′S
Latitude at Greatest Eclipse
126°42.4′E
Longitude at Greatest Eclipse
52.6°
Sun Altitude at Greatest Eclipse
5:09.7
Centre-line Duration at Greatest Eclipse
Regional planning
Four regions
Plan for the place, not just the path.
The path crosses three remote Australian regions before it reaches New South Wales, and one in Aotearoa after it. Each guide names the towns inside and just outside totality, with times calculated for each one. See all of them on the regional guides page.
Kimberley, Western Australia
Totality reaches the coast at 10:47 a.m. AWST. Wyndham gets 3m 24s and Kununurra 2m 55s, with the Sun 53° up; Halls Creek and Broome miss out.
Read the Kimberley guide →Northern Territory
Tennant Creek, on the Stuart Highway, gets 3m 25s just before 12:50 p.m. ACST. Alice Springs, 500 km down the highway, sees a 95% partial.
Read the Northern Territory guide →Outback Queensland
Bedourie gets about 4m 27s and Thargomindah 4m 16s. Birdsville misses totality by about 7 km and sees a 99.97% partial.
Read the Queensland guide →South Island, Aotearoa NZ
Totality arrives about an hour before sunset with the Sun under 11° up. Queenstown, Wānaka, Cromwell, Ranfurly and Dunedin are all inside.
Read the South Island guide →§ 02
Contact Times
When the sky goes quiet.
Town and city-centre eclipse times are listed below. Times are local. Magnitude is the fraction of the Sun's diameter the Moon covers at maximum; for partial cities the duration column shows the share of the Sun's area covered instead.
No.
City
1st Contact
Greatest
Totality
Magnitude
§ 03
Anatomy of Totality
Four moments, timed for Sydney.
A total eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about every 18 months, but any one place waits on average about 375 years. Here is the order of events, timed for central Sydney.
1st Contact
First Bite.
In central Sydney the Moon first touches the Sun at 12:40 p.m. AEST. For the next 79 minutes the crescent shrinks; the light only starts to look strange in the last quarter of an hour. Solar viewers for every look.
2nd Contact
Diamond Ring.
At 1:59 p.m. the last sunlight shines through valleys on the Moon's edge as Baily's beads and the diamond ring, for a few seconds. When the last bead vanishes, viewers come off.
Totality
Totality.
For 3 minutes 48 seconds the corona surrounds the black Moon. Jupiter shines high in the north-east, Mercury sits just beside the Sun and Sirius and Canopus appear; the horizon glows orange all round.
3rd & 4th Contact
Return of day.
At 2:03 p.m. a diamond ring flashes on the opposite side of the Moon: viewers back on at once. The partial phase then runs in reverse until 3:14 p.m., when the Moon leaves the Sun.
Sydney CBD / Local Time
The eclipse begins at 12:40 AEST, totality runs from about 13:59 to 14:03, maximum occurs at 14:01, and the eclipse ends at 15:14 local time. The track uses a compressed display scale so the totality contacts remain readable while the draggable marker still maps to the correct local time.
Now / before eclipse
12:40First
Contact
Contact
13:59Second
Contact
Contact
14:01Maximum
14:03Third
Contact
Contact
15:14Fourth
Contact
Contact
§ 04
How to Watch
Don't look. Then look.
The partial phases need certified eye protection. Totality itself — and only totality — is safe to view with the naked eye, and the only time you should ever look directly at the Sun.
⚠ Before & After Totality
Eyes shielded.
During every minute the Sun is not 100% covered, direct viewing causes immediate, painless and permanent retinal damage. There is no warning sensation.
- 01ISO 12312-2 glasses are the only safe filter for direct viewing. Inspect for scratches before each use.
- 02Welding glass must be shade 14 or darker. Sunglasses — even stacked — are not safe.
- 03Telescopes & cameras require a front-element solar filter. Looking through an unfiltered scope concentrates the Sun's heat.
- 04Pinhole projection onto white card is the safest and oldest method — no filter required.
★ During Totality Only
Filters off.
The moment the Sun's photosphere is entirely blocked — and not one second before — you are looking at the corona of a star with your own eyes. It lasts only minutes. Don't watch it through glass.
- 01Watch the horizon in the minute before. The umbra arrives as a wall of darkness from the west, faster than any storm.
- 02The diamond ring marks the boundary. The instant it fades to a thin red ring of chromosphere, glasses come off.
- 03Look around, not just up. A 360° sunset, shadow bands on the ground, planets and bright stars at midday, animals confused.
- 04Glasses back on the instant you see the first hint of returning light — the second diamond ring. It is brighter than you remember.
§ 05
Frequently Asked
Questions answered.
Times, places and safety for the 2028 total solar eclipse across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
What time is the 2028 event in Sydney?
In Sydney, the partial phase begins at 12:40 p.m. AEST on July 22, 2028. Maximum occurs at 2:01 p.m. AEST, totality lasts 3 minutes 48 seconds, and the event ends at 3:14 p.m. AEST.
Where is the best place to view totality in Australia?
It depends on what you value. Among towns with services, Bourke (about 4 minutes) and Gilgandra (3:52) have the longest totality in New South Wales, and Bourke has the best long-term July cloud record. Sydney (3:48) is the easiest to reach. Outback Queensland and the Kimberley offer more time but much harder logistics; see the regional guides.
How long will 2028 totality last?
The maximum duration of totality is about 5 minutes 10 seconds along the central path, though duration varies by location. City-centre examples include Sydney at 3 minutes 48 seconds, Bourke at 4 minutes 6 seconds, and Dubbo at 3 minutes 50 seconds.
Is it safe to look at the Sun?
Use solar viewers that conform to ISO 12312-2 during every partial phase. Remove them only after totality has begun at your exact location, and replace them immediately when bright photosphere returns. Never look at the partial Sun without proper eye protection.
Will Melbourne see totality in 2028?
Melbourne will experience a deep partial event but not totality. The partial phase begins at 12:32 p.m. AEST and reaches maximum at 1:52 p.m. AEST. For totality, travel north toward the New South Wales path, including Bourke, Dubbo, or Sydney.
What weather can we expect in July?
Bureau of Meteorology station summaries offer a documented comparison: Sydney Observatory Hill reports July means of 12.0 clear days and 8.7 cloudy days from a 1955–2010 cloud record, while Bourke Airport reports 13.0 clear and 3.4 cloudy days from a shorter 1999–2009 record. These monthly station statistics are not an eclipse-day forecast or viewing probability. See the weather evidence and limitations guide, then use current forecasts close to the event.
Which planets and stars will I see during totality?
It depends where you are. In the Kimberley and the Northern Territory, Venus is the brightest object, high in the north-west, with Jupiter lower in the east-north-east. Over inland New South Wales Jupiter is high in the north-east and Venus is low in the west-north-west; around Sydney Venus is on the horizon. Over Otago only Jupiter, in the north, is well placed. Everywhere, Mercury sits about 4 degrees from the eclipsed Sun, and Sirius and Canopus are the brightest stars. The town guides list what is above the horizon in each place.
How often do total eclipses occur in Australia?
Total solar eclipses are rare for any specific location. Sydney last experienced totality in 1857 and published eclipse calculations place the next Sydney totality in the 29th century, so the 22 July 2028 event is exceptional for the city. Australia sees total eclipses at irregular intervals, so it is better to plan from a specific eclipse path than from an average cadence.
When was the last total solar eclipse in these cities?
Sydney last had city totality on 26 March 1857, Melbourne on 23 October 1976, Brisbane on 7 August 1901, and Adelaide on 4 March 1802. Australia last had totality on 20 April 2023, and Aotearoa New Zealand last had totality on 31 May 1965 in Northland. Queenstown's next listed city-centre totality is 22 July 2028. Timeanddate's current city pages list no total solar eclipse before 2200 for Auckland eclipse history, Christchurch eclipse history, Wellington eclipse history, or Canberra eclipse history; Perth's page lists the next city totality as 31 May 2068, with no past city-centre totality in that same window.
How can I verify eclipse viewing glasses?
Use viewers that conform to ISO 12312-2 and buy from a supplier on the current American Astronomical Society viewers and filters list or an authorised dealer. An ISO logo or printed number alone does not prove conformity. Inspect viewers before every use and discard damaged or untraceable products.
How should I photograph the eclipse?
Keep a solar filter over the front of the lens for every partial phase and take it off only for totality. The Sun's height decides the lens: around 29 degrees up in Sydney and 30 to 35 degrees inland, a telephoto on a tripod works; in Central Otago and Dunedin, where the Sun is under 10 degrees up, a wide lens can put the eclipsed Sun over the landscape. The photography guide gives exposure ranges and a simple shot list.
When does totality reach each region?
Totality reaches the Kimberley coast at 10:47 a.m. AWST, Tennant Creek just before 12:50 p.m. ACST, south-west Queensland at about 1:36 p.m. AEST, Bourke at 1:52 p.m., Sydney at 2:01 p.m. AEST and Central Otago at about 4:16 p.m. NZST. The whole land track takes about an hour and a half.
Which towns only just miss totality?
Several places sit right on the edge. Birdsville sees 99.97% of the Sun covered, Coonabarabran in New South Wales 99.99%, and Te Anau in Fiordland misses the path by about 2 km; Newcastle sees 99.7% and Halls Creek 98%. None of them gets a moment when solar viewers can come off, so drive a few tens of kilometres into the path.
What day of the week is the eclipse?
Saturday 22 July 2028. In Aotearoa New Zealand it falls in the July school holidays and eight days after Matariki, so expect busy roads and accommodation in Otago for the whole week.
Will the 2028 event be visible from Tasmania?
Tasmania will see a partial phase but not totality. Timeanddate Hobart details lists Hobart maximum at 1:56 p.m. AEST on 22 July 2028 with magnitude 0.781, beginning at 12:40 p.m. and ending at 3:07 p.m. For totality, travel to mainland Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand's South Island.
Data Sources & Methodology
Eclipse predictions from NASA GSFC Eclipse Website and Fred Espenak's calculations.
City timing data verified against NASA GSFC interactive eclipse map.
Weather comparisons use named Bureau of Meteorology station climatologies with their displayed periods and metric limits; they are not eclipse-minute forecasts.
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