A total solar eclipse will sweep across parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada on Monday, April 8, 2024. Unfortunately for Aussies hoping to see this rare solar spectacle, Australia will be facing away from the sun during the entirety of this eclipse event. So, when is the next opportunity to see a total solar eclipse in Australia?

What is a total solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when our Moon passes between Earth and our Sun, causing the Moon to cast a shadow on the Earth’s surface. If you happen to be standing directly in the path of the Moon’s shadow as it sweeps across Earth’s surface, you will witness day rapidly and temporarily turn into night.

Total solar eclipses are natural events that have been happening throughout human history. According to NASA, there is evidence of eclipses being recorded by humans as far back as 3,340 B.C.E. Roughly 5,000 years later, we are still fascinated by these spectacular celestial events.

This year’s eclipse

The April 2024 total solar eclipse will be visible along a corridor stretching across the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, the United States, Canada and the Atlantic Ocean. The path of totality, which is where the eclipse can be seen in full, with pass directly over parts of 13 states in North America, stretching from Texas to Maine.

Image: Path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Source: NASA

This will be the last total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States until 2044. Fortunately for Australians missing out on this event, our next total solar eclipse is only a few years away.

Australia’s next total solar eclipse

It has only been one year since Australia witnessed its last total solar eclipse. That event occurred over the northwest corner of Western Australia in April 2023, passing directly over Exmouth.

The next total solar eclipse in Australia will occur on July 22, 2028, in just over four years’ time. Unlike the last total solar eclipse that only glanced the northwest corner of the country, the next event will cut a path across the country staring in the Kimberley district of WA, passing across the country’s vast Red Centre before going directly over Sydney on the east coast.

Image: Predicted path of the July 2028 total solar eclipse in Australia. Source: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC

The 2028 total solar eclipse will be a big event for Australia as it will pass over parts of five states and territories, including Sydney, which has a population of over 5 million.

Unlike the weather, solar eclipses are easy to predict well ahead of time. The only thing left to worry now about is what the weather will be like across Australia on July 22, 2028. Let’s hope for no clouds between the Kimberley and Sydney.