Total solar eclipse — across Sydney
The path of totality runs straight over downtown Sydney — five million people under the shadow at once.
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The moment of Total solar eclipse — across Sydney: https://nowsky.org/e/solar-eclipse-2028 — opens at the right place and time, replayable, no login.
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The story
On 22 July 2028 the Moon's shadow makes landfall on the Kimberley coast of Western Australia and runs diagonally across the continent to the southeast. Paths of totality usually fall on ocean, desert or ice. This one passes over the rooftops of a city of five million: downtown Sydney sits inside the umbra for 3 minutes 49 seconds.
The shadow crosses the dry interior on its way south. July is the southern winter and the dry season across northern Australia, so the path spends a long stretch over country that is reliably cloud-free, then continues through New South Wales to Sydney. Beyond the city it moves out over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand's South Island, where totality ends at sunset near Queenstown and Dunedin.
Sydney last stood inside a path of totality in 1857. After 171 years the corona returns above the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. When an entire metropolis falls inside the path, the character of the event changes: this is not an expedition to a remote centre line but an eclipse seen from ordinary places, with harbours, parks and office windows serving as observing sites.
Sydney weather in July is the catch. A coastal city in the southern winter carries a much higher cloud risk than the interior, and the Sun sits fairly low in the sky. Many observers will weigh the certainty of a clear inland site against the scenery of the city. Use the sky-view replay on this page with Sydney as your location to rehearse that afternoon in advance.
Why it matters
A total eclipse is the only circumstance in which the Sun's corona is visible to the unaided eye. The corona is vastly fainter than the photosphere and is normally lost in the glare; for the few minutes the Moon covers the disk exactly, its pearl-coloured streamers appear. Solar physicists still travel to eclipses because the coronal heating problem — why the outer atmosphere is far hotter than the surface below it — remains unsolved.
This eclipse is unusual for the sheer number of people under it. When totality crosses a large modern city, the event is recorded not only by professional instruments but by millions of cameras and a great many amateur telescopes at the same instant. Citizen-science projects that collect changes in the corona over time, or elusive effects such as shadow bands, rarely get conditions this good.
Total eclipses over Australia are not rare in themselves, but ones that cross densely populated ground are. Most that touched the continent in the last century fell on the interior or on small coastal towns. An urban total eclipse of this kind comes along perhaps once a century, and that is what fixes this event's place in the record.
How to watch
The path starts in the Kimberley, crosses the Northern Territory and Queensland interior and New South Wales, reaches Sydney, then crosses the Tasman Sea to end at sunset over New Zealand's South Island. Totality at Sydney falls in the afternoon and lasts 3 minutes 49 seconds. Outside the path you get only a partial eclipse: cities such as Melbourne or Brisbane see a deep partial, but no corona and no real darkness. A deep partial and a total eclipse are different phenomena, and several hours of travel to get inside the path is worth it.
Safety comes first. Throughout every partial phase you need eclipse glasses certified to ISO 12312-2. Sunglasses, stacked film, smoked glass and camera viewfinders are all unsafe. The only period you may look with bare eyes is totality itself, the 3 minutes 49 seconds while the disk is completely covered, and the glasses must go back on the moment the first sliver of sunlight returns. Binoculars and telescopes require full-aperture filters mounted in front of the objective, removable only during totality.
Ground logistics are simple but should be settled early. Because it is a winter afternoon, the Sun will be low, so you want a site with the western to north-western sky clear of buildings. Harbourside spots and scenic parks are likely to draw crowds, so allow generous travel time. If you cannot be there, broadcasters and observatories are likely to carry totality live, and the sky-view replay on this page reconstructs the Sydney sky of that moment.
See this for yourself — open that sky at that moment · replay the moment in the orbit view
Background
Sydney last saw totality in 1857, when it was a port town of a few tens of thousands rather than the largest metropolitan area in the southern hemisphere. The 171-year wait is itself a measure of how narrow and capricious a path of totality is on the surface of a planet: any given city waits centuries between visits, and many wait longer.
Australia has been well served by eclipses lately. Totality reached the Cairns region of far north Queensland in November 2012 and the Exmouth peninsula in Western Australia in April 2023. In both cases the path crossed thinly populated ground, so the events were expedition affairs, with observers flying in and camping out. 2028 inverts that: the observing site is a place where people already live.
Looking ahead sharpens the value of this one. Another total eclipse crosses southern Australia in November 2030, but the odds of central Sydney landing inside a path again within a human lifetime are slim. For observers in Korea, the nearest total eclipse is the one crossing the northern Korean peninsula on 2 September 2035.
FAQ
How long does totality last in Sydney?
About 3 minutes 49 seconds in central Sydney. The duration shortens as you move away from the centre line and drops to a few seconds at the edge of the path. Outside the path totality does not occur at all, only a deep partial eclipse.
Is it ever safe to look without a filter?
Only during totality, while the solar disk is fully covered. Every partial phase requires ISO 12312-2 certified eclipse glasses, and they must go back on the instant the first sliver of photosphere reappears. Sunglasses and smoked glass are not safe substitutes at any stage.
What about the weather — where should I go?
July is winter on the New South Wales coast, so Sydney carries more cloud risk than the interior. On clear-sky odds alone the dry-season stretch across northern and central Australia is the better bet; on scenery and access, Sydney wins. The practical answer is to stay mobile along the path and follow the forecast in the last few days.
Will it be visible from Korea?
No. The path and the surrounding partial zone cover Australia, the southwest Pacific and New Zealand, and East Asia falls well outside. The sky-view replay on this page lets you set Sydney as your location and watch the sky of that afternoon instead.
Related
- The great eclipse of 2027 over Egypt
- The 2028 annular eclipse at Spanish sunset
- The 2028 New Year blood moon
- The Sun — object index
- The Moon — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.