When is Australia’s next total solar eclipse?
Last week’s spectacular Ningaloo Eclipse not only wowed the tens of thousands of people who made the trip to Western Australia’s remote town of Exmouth to witness it, it also ignited ‘eclipse fever’ which quickly spread around the whole country.
Other locations saw a partial solar eclipse, while thousands tuned in to watch the phenomenon via live stream.
Vowing to be there for the next one in person, Australian Geographic readers have been asking on social media ‘When will the next total solar eclipse occur in Australia?’.
Total solar eclipses are extremely rare. According to NASA one happens somewhere on Earth only every year and a half. Meanwhile, a partial solar eclipse happens at least twice a year somewhere on Earth.
But, fortunately, we don’t have to wait very long at all!
“Remarkably, this eclipse is the first of five total solar eclipses to occur over the next 15 years in Australia,” says Tanya Hill, Senior Curator (Astronomy) at Museums Victoria and Honorary Fellow at University of Melbourne.
“What’s more, many of the upcoming eclipses will see totality pass over highly populated areas.”
22 July 2028
Totality will cross from the Kimberley, Western Australia, through the Northern Territory, southwest Queensland, New South Wales, and pass directly over Sydney.
“This is the upcoming eclipse of greatest interest to Australians,” says Nick Lomb, an Honorary Professor at University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Astrophysics.
“It is rare for a major city to be in the path of totality, and the five million people of Sydney will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view a total solar eclipse from their homes or backyards.”
25 November 2030
Totality will occur across South Australia, northwest New South Wales, and southern Queensland.
13 July 2037
Totality will cross southern Western Australia, southern Northern Territory, western Queensland, and pass directly over Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
26 December 2038
Totality will occur over central Western Australia, South Australia, and along the New South Wales/Victoria border.
