Australia sees none of the solar eclipses of 2026 and 2027. Its turn comes on Saturday 22 July 2028, when the path of a total eclipse crosses the continent from the Kimberley to the Pacific and passes directly over Sydney, where the Sun is hidden for 3 minutes 48 seconds at 2:01 p.m. It is the first total eclipse in Sydney since 1857. A second total eclipse follows on 25 November 2030, and it is partial at sunset in every capital.

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July 22, 2028: total solar eclipse

Local time. “Sun covered” is the share of the Sun's disc hidden at the best moment that is above the horizon.

November 25, 2030: partial solar eclipse

2026 and 2027: Nothing to See from Australia

The eclipses of these two years belong to other parts of the world. The annular eclipse of 17 February 2026 crossed Antarctica; the total eclipse of 12 August 2026 crossed Greenland, Iceland and Spain; the annular eclipse of 6 February 2027 crosses Chile and Argentina; and the total eclipse of 2 August 2027 crosses southern Spain, North Africa and Egypt, where totality lasts 6 minutes 20 seconds at Luxor. None of them is visible from any Australian state or territory, even as a partial eclipse. Australians who want to see the 2027 totality travel to Spain or Egypt. Those who wait a year have it at home.

22 July 2028: Totality over Sydney

The shadow reaches the Kimberley coast in the late morning and crosses the Northern Territory, south-west Queensland and New South Wales. Kununurra has 2 minutes 47 seconds of totality, Tennant Creek 3 minutes 21 seconds and Dubbo 3 minutes 50 seconds. In Sydney the partial phase begins at 12:40 p.m., totality comes at 2:01 p.m. and lasts 3 minutes 48 seconds, and the eclipse ends at 3:14 p.m., with the winter Sun 29 degrees up in the north-west. Wollongong, near the southern edge, has 2 minutes 53 seconds. Places outside the path miss it however close they are: Newcastle has 99.6% and Canberra 96%, and neither becomes dark. Brisbane and Melbourne see 82% and 81%, Adelaide 76%, Hobart 74% and Perth 50%.

25 November 2030: A Second Total Eclipse, at Sunset

Twenty-eight months later another total eclipse crosses Australia, this time from South Australia into Queensland late in the day, after passing over southern Africa in the morning. The path runs through the outback and misses the capitals, but all of them see a deep partial eclipse as the Sun goes down. Adelaide has 91% at 6:49 p.m. In Brisbane the Sun sets at about 6:21 p.m. with 95% of it covered, and in Sydney 79% is covered at 7:18 p.m., only four degrees above the horizon. Perth sees 77% in mid-afternoon. On 21 May 2031 an annular eclipse over the Indian Ocean is partial at sunset in Darwin, with 61% covered.

A Golden Age for Australian Eclipses

Total eclipses have touched Australia several times in recent years, always far from the big cities: Ceduna in South Australia had 32 seconds on 4 December 2002, Cairns had 2 minutes on the morning of 14 November 2012, and Exmouth in Western Australia had 56 seconds on 20 April 2023. Melbourne's last total eclipse was on 23 October 1976. What makes the coming years unusual is that the paths cross the east coast. After Sydney in 2028 and the outback in 2030, a third total eclipse on 13 July 2037 passes over south-east Queensland, with 59 seconds in Brisbane and 2 minutes 58 seconds on the Gold Coast. Few countries have so many total eclipses over large cities in so short a time.

Frequently asked

What time is the total solar eclipse in Sydney on 22 July 2028?

The partial phase begins at 12:40 p.m., totality starts at about 2:01 p.m. and lasts 3 minutes 48 seconds, and the eclipse ends at 3:14 p.m.

Is there a solar eclipse in Australia in 2026 or 2027?

No. None of the four solar eclipses of 2026 and 2027 is visible from Australia. The next one is the total eclipse of 22 July 2028.

Will Melbourne and Brisbane see the 2028 eclipse?

As a partial eclipse: 81% of the Sun is covered in Melbourne and 82% in Brisbane. Only places inside the path, such as Sydney and Dubbo, see totality.

Solar eclipses by country