Sydney Total Solar Eclipse 2028

Sydney is the headline urban totality location for 22 July 2028, with the central city inside the path and maximum at 2:01 p.m. AEST.

By Mark Mayo, who has stood in the Moon's shadow at three total solar eclipses. Published 7 June 2026. Updated 28 October 2026.

Sydney on 22 July 2028

Totality in Sydney lasts 3 minutes, 48 seconds at the city centre, at about 2:01 p.m. AEST on 22 July 2028. The partial eclipse runs from 12:40 p.m. AEST to 3:14 p.m. AEST. Totality varies by less than five seconds across the 5 sites measured below, so choose on sightline and access.

Sydney's key decision: harbour spectacle or an inland fallback?

Sydney combines totality with exceptional public transport and familiar landmarks, but a fixed harbour booking reduces weather mobility. Decide in advance whether the setting itself is the priority or whether you will move west when the forecast supports it.

Totality is the same to within a second across the city; choose a site for its sightline and transport.
Buildings and trees, not terrain, block the Sun here: stand where the north-northwest is open.
If the coast looks cloudy, the train to Penrith keeps the same totality to within five seconds.

Eclipse times in Sydney

First contact: 12:40 p.m. AEST
Maximum: 2:01 p.m. AEST
End: 3:14 p.m. AEST
Totality: 3 minutes, 48 seconds
Magnitude: 1.025

In UTC on 22 July 2028: first contact 02:40, maximum 04:01, eclipse ends 05:14. Add to calendar (.ics)

At maximum eclipse, the Sun stands about 29 degrees above the north-northwest horizon as seen from Sydney.

Sydney in the path of totality

Central Sydney gets 3 minutes 48 seconds of totality with the Sun about 29 degrees up in the north-northwest. Duration hardly changes across the city: every Sydney site measured below falls between 3 minutes 48 and 3 minutes 49 seconds. It falls fast to the south, though; Wollongong gets about a minute less.

What makes Sydney distinctive for the 2028 eclipse?

Sydney's own eclipse history makes 2028 unusually significant: NASA's dedicated eclipse-circumstances catalogue for the city confirms Sydney last saw totality on 25/26 March 1857 (a brief 1 minute 54 seconds, near the path's edge), and that the next total eclipse will not reach Sydney again until 3 June 2858. This site's own history page examines what can, and cannot, be verified about that 1857 event from surviving records. Source.

5 Sydney viewing sites, measured

Terrain is not what blocks the Sun in Sydney: the highest measured horizon at the sites below is 1.9 degrees, at Centennial Park. Buildings and trees are, and the terrain model cannot see either. North-facing harbour foreshores have the cleanest sightlines because the Sun sits above the water. From Observatory Hill and Barangaroo the north-northwest line runs across the harbour toward Balmain; from Mrs Macquarie's Point it runs over open water.

Measured at each site for maximum eclipse, when the Sun is about 29° high at azimuth 328°.
Site	Totality	Terrain horizon toward Sun	Sun vs terrain	Ground
Observatory Hill, Millers Point	3:49	0.4°	Clear by 28°	38 m
Royal Botanic Garden and Mrs Macquarie's Point	3:48	1.7°	Clear by 27°	6 m
Barangaroo Reserve	3:49	0.7°	Clear by 28°	3 m
Centennial Park	3:48	1.9°	Clear by 27°	39 m
Parramatta Park and western-suburbs ovals	3:49	0.8°	Clear by 28°	17 m

Each chart traces Sydney's terrain 30° either side of azimuth 328°, where the Sun stands at maximum; it shows hills, not trees or buildings (how the sites were measured).

Observatory Hill, Millers Point

The historic observatory hill at the southern end of the Harbour Bridge, with toilets nearby and a short walk from Wynyard station. The measured terrain horizon is 0.4 degrees; the north-northwest line crosses the harbour toward Balmain. Facilities and access.
Royal Botanic Garden and Mrs Macquarie's Point

The garden publishes opening hours and an accessible-path map. The headland has open harbour water to the north-west. Facilities and access.
Barangaroo Reserve

A harbourside headland park with public toilets, managed by Place Management NSW. Its sandstone terraces face north-west straight across the water. Facilities and access.
Centennial Park

A large inland parkland with paths, parking and accessible toilets. The terrain model gives a 1.9-degree horizon; tree belts are the real obstruction, so use the open central fields. Facilities and access.
Parramatta Park and western-suburbs ovals

A large river parkland 20 km west of the city; the park facilities page lists toilets and accessible parking. Totality is within a second of the city centre and crowds should be thinner than at the harbour. Facilities and access.

July weather in Sydney: the station record

The long-term July record at Sydney (Observatory Hill) shows 12.0 clear days, 3.8 eighths of the sky clouded at 3 p.m., 7.4 days with at least 1 mm of rain and a mean 3 p.m. temperature of 16.4°C.

An average July, from Bureau of Meteorology station records.
July	Sydney (Observatory Hill)
Clear days	12.0 days 56 yrs, 1955–2010
Cloudy days	8.7 days 56 yrs, 1955–2010
3 p.m. cloud cover	3.8 oktas 56 yrs, 1955–2010
9 a.m. cloud cover	3.5 oktas 56 yrs, 1955–2010
Days with 1 mm or more of rain	7.4 days 162 yrs, 1858–2020
Rainfall	96.3 mm 159 yrs, 1858–2020
Mean maximum	16.4°C 161 yrs, 1859–2020
Mean 3 p.m. temperature	16.4°C 56 yrs, 1955–2010
Mean minimum	8.1°C 161 yrs, 1859–2020
Days at or below 0°C	0.0 days 162 yrs, 1859–2020
Mean 3 p.m. wind	15.3 km/h 37 yrs, 1955–1991

Observatory Hill closed in 2020; it is the historical central-Sydney record. Sources: Sydney (Observatory Hill), whose averages describe past Julys rather than the sky on 22 July 2028.

Mean clear days in July, out of 31: Sydney's station highlighted against the long-record station for each other totality city.

If cloud threatens Sydney: decide by breakfast, go west by train

Sydney's best fallback is the train. If the forecast shows coastal cloud with a clearer west, the Blue Mountains Line reaches Penrith in under an hour and keeps the same totality to within five seconds. Make the call by breakfast; road traffic west will build all morning. Moving farther inland, toward Lithgow or Bathurst, only makes sense from the night before.

Eclipse day in Sydney

Pick your site by sightline and transport, not by fame. A harbour headland and a suburban oval give the same totality to within a second. Be in place before first contact at 12:40 p.m.; totality arrives at about 2:00 p.m. and the partial phase ends at 3:14 p.m.

Getting to Sydney

Every harbour site below is within a 15-minute walk of a train station or ferry wharf. Parking near the foreshore will be scarce; plan on public transport. If you are staying in a hotel, choose a site you can walk to from it and check your accommodation's cancellation terms.

Who Sydney suits

Sydney suits residents, international visitors, and groups that need public transport, hotels, medical access, and civic-scale viewing options - it is the easiest totality city in the world to reach in 2028. It is less ideal for observers whose single priority is clear-sky probability, who will find better historical odds inland, and for anyone allergic to crowds. If you live in the basin, the strongest move is usually to stay local and choose your park well.

Safety in Sydney

Sydney's specific hazard is crowd mechanics: narrow foreshore points, seawalls, and steps will be packed in near-darkness during totality, and everyone looks up at once. Keep children and tripods back from water edges, agree a meeting point before the sky dims, and expect a surge of movement immediately after third contact. See the eye safety guide.

Questions about Sydney

Where is the best place to watch the eclipse in Sydney?

Of the sites measured on this page, Parramatta Park and western-suburbs ovals has the longest totality, 3:49. The Sun clears the terrain at every Sydney site measured, so trees, buildings and facilities decide the rest.

Should I drive or take the train?

Take the train or a ferry. The harbour sites are walkable from stations and wharves, foreshore parking is limited on an ordinary weekday, and a city-wide event will make it worse.

Is the harbour or a local park better?

The eclipse is the same: totality varies by about a second across the sites measured. A local park with an open north-northwest view and fewer people is often the better experience.

Will buildings block the Sun?

They can. At 29 degrees, the Sun clears a ten-storey building about 55 m away; closer than that, or behind a tower, it will not. Choose open foreshore or a large park, and stand where the north-northwest view is clear.

Nearby city guides

Compare Dubbo, Bourke, Brisbane, or browse all city guides.

Sources

Eclipse times are calculated from NASA GSFC Besselian elements (path table) and compared with Timeanddate for Sydney. The Sydney site horizons use the terrain model behind the visibility map, with coordinates from OpenStreetMap. Published times here are for the city centre; suburbs differ by a few seconds either side. Cross-check your exact suburb's circumstances against the source page before finalising a schedule.