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Path of totality crosses Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and importantly directly over Sydney. Continues into the South Pacific, also touching New Zealand's South Island.
The first total solar eclipse directly over Sydney since 1857 — a marquee astrotourism event for the southern hemisphere, with totality lasting just over 3 minutes from the city.
Time to greatest eclipse
Peak in your local time: 2028-07-22T02:56:40Z
Peak UTC
02:56:40
2028-07-22
Magnitude
1.056
Sun diameter
Max duration
5m 10s
central line
Obscuration
100.0%
Sun area covered
Saros
#146
36 of 76
Gamma
-0.612
Shadow axis (Earth-radii)
Australia (especially Sydney), New Zealand (South Island)
Central path crosses
Australia - New Zealand
Visible from
Cities from the WorldClockTools clock catalog that fall in the central path or partial-eclipse band. Each link goes to the local clock page for that city.
Path of totality
Partial-eclipse zone
Every phase of a solar eclipse outside of totality requires ISO 12312-2 certified solar viewing glasses or an equivalent solar filter on every optical instrument (telescope, binoculars, camera lens). The same standard applies to total solar eclipses. Glasses can come off only during the brief totality window on the central path; they must go back on the instant Baily's beads reappear at third contact.
Central-line duration is 5m 10s. A typical imaging plan brackets exposures from ~1/1000s for the chromosphere and Baily's beads down to ~2s for the outer corona, fired in a programmable sequence so the observer can watch with the naked eye for at least the middle third of totality.
Local sun altitude, the path crossing time of day, and recent weather climatology drive site selection. NASA's interactive eclipse map (linked below) gives the exact altitude and time for any coordinates on the path.
Editorial dossier
Historical significance
The July 22 2028 total solar eclipse is the first total solar eclipse to pass directly over Sydney, Australia, since the March 25 1857 eclipse — a gap of 171 years. The path of totality crosses Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and threads precisely across the Sydney metropolitan area, before continuing over the South Pacific to clip New Zealand's South Island.
Comparison to other eclipses
Australia's most recent total solar eclipses (November 13 2012 over far-north Queensland, April 20 2023 over Exmouth) required outback travel from major population centres. The 2028 event is unique: Sydney is the largest metropolitan area in the southern hemisphere to host a total solar eclipse in modern times, with totality lasting just over 3 minutes from the CBD itself.
Astrophotography context
Peak local time is 14:00 AEST (04:00 UTC adjusted for the date). Sun altitude over Sydney is moderate (~35-40 degrees) in mid-winter, giving good corona contrast against a deep-blue winter sky. New Zealand's South Island sees totality near sunset, offering rare horizon-corona shots over the Southern Alps.
Top viewing destinations
Sources
Eclipse data depth
Reference fields include Total Solar Eclipse 2028-07-22: Saros context, magnitude / obscuration, path geometry, visibility countries, and city cross-references.
Data source: NASA / JPL
Eclipse data from NASA/JPL — Fred Espenak & Jean Meeus, Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses and Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses (NASA Technical Publications NASA/TP–2006-214141 and NASA/TP–2009-214172). Public domain; re-published here with attribution.
NASA page for this eclipse (path map & circumstances)eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov
Greatest eclipse: July 22, 2028 at 02:56 UTC
