Choosing a Viewing Site for the 2028 Eclipse
A site inside the path is only useful if the Sun is visible from it at maximum. This is how the city guides measure that, and how to check a site of your own.
Short answer: Check three things at any site: that it is inside the path with the totality you expect, that nothing on the horizon toward the Sun is higher than the Sun will be, and that you can lawfully get there, stay and leave. The city guides measure the first two for named sites; trees, buildings and access you check yourself.
How the city guides measure each site
Each named site on a totality city page is placed at its OpenStreetMap coordinates. Totality and the Sun's altitude and direction at maximum eclipse are then calculated for that exact point from NASA's Besselian elements, the same inputs as the interactive calculator. Duration changes with position, sometimes sharply: in Orange the showground gets about 2 minutes 15 seconds and the Mount Canobolas summit, 13 km away, about 59 seconds.
The horizon is traced from 2 m eye height through the same terrain model as the visibility map: elevation tiles with cells about 130 m across, sampled from 500 m to 80 km along the Sun's direction, with Earth's curvature and normal atmospheric refraction applied. The highest angle along that line is the terrain horizon. If it is higher than the Sun, the site cannot see totality.
Evidence: NASA 2028 Besselian elements, OpenStreetMap, Terrain Tiles on the AWS Open Data registry.
What the terrain model cannot see
The model knows hills and ridges, not trees, buildings, fences or crowds, and it ignores slopes closer than 500 m because its cells are too coarse to describe them. A site the tables call clear can still be blocked by a stand of gums 50 m away. Two measured results show what terrain alone does: from a point on Queenstown's Frankton Track, Queenstown Hill rises to nearly 20 degrees and hides a 10-degree Sun; from Warrington on Dunedin's Blueskin Bay, hills 1.3 km away rise just above the 8-degree Sun.
Evidence: Terrain Tiles on the AWS Open Data registry.
How far to stand from trees and buildings
The rule is simple geometry: to see over an obstruction, stand back at least its height divided by the tangent of the Sun's altitude. The lower the Sun, the further back.
| Obstruction | Dunedin, 8° | Queenstown, 10° | Sydney, 29° | Dubbo, 32° | Bourke, 35° |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 m tree | 71 m | 57 m | 18 m | 16 m | 14 m |
| 30 m building | 213 m | 170 m | 54 m | 48 m | 43 m |
| 100 m ridge or tower | 712 m | 567 m | 180 m | 160 m | 143 m |
In the New South Wales cities, an open park or sports field clears almost anything. In Dunedin and Queenstown, a single row of trees between you and the north-west can hide the Sun from a whole lawn.
Measure the horizon with your hand
At arm's length, a clenched fist covers about 10 degrees of sky and a finger about 1 degree. Face the Sun's direction at maximum, which is north-northwest across New South Wales and north-west in Otago, rest the bottom of your fist on the skyline and count up. If the Sun's altitude for your city takes fewer fists than the obstruction in front of you, move. A compass app gives the direction; the city page gives the altitude and azimuth.
Rehearse at the same time of day
The Sun's position changes slowly in late July, so any clear afternoon within a week or two of 22 July, at the time of maximum eclipse, shows almost exactly where the Sun will be. Stand where you plan to watch and look at it with a solar viewer: if it is behind a tree or a roof, so will totality be. In 2027 the rehearsal is a full year early, so allow for trees growing and buildings going up.
Evidence: American Astronomical Society eye safety.
Check access as carefully as the sky
Before relying on a site, write down the exact coordinates and confirm four things with whoever manages it: that the public can be there on 22 July 2028, what the gates, parking and toilets will be, whether an event or booking will close it, and how you will leave afterwards. Then choose a second site that passes the same checks, in a different direction, so cloud or a closed gate does not end the day. The eclipse-day planner turns these into a printable checklist.
Common Questions
How accurate are the measured horizons on the city pages?
They are accurate for hills and ridges more than about 500 m away, to within a fraction of a degree. They do not include trees, buildings or nearby slopes, which you need to check yourself.
Does a higher site always see better?
No. Height lowers the horizon but can shorten totality if it moves you toward the path edge, as at Mount Canobolas near Orange, and summits are colder, windier and harder to leave in the dark.
Which direction will the Sun be at maximum eclipse?
North-northwest, about 330 degrees, across New South Wales; north-west, about 310 degrees, in Otago. Each city page gives the exact azimuth.