2028 total solar eclipse in New Zealand likely to be a big tourism drawcard, astronomer says

A diagram showing the expected path in New Zealand of a total solar eclipse on July 22, 2028. Image / Supplied

By RNZ

A Dunedin astronomer is so excited by the prospect of witnessing a total solar eclipse on his doorstep, he bought his house 10 years ago with a view of it in mind.

New Zealand is set to experience its first total solar eclipse in decades, on July 22, 2028. The previous one was in 1965, visible in a small part of Northland.

Huge crowds gathered in Mexico, the United States and Canada to witness the rare spectacle yesterday. In Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border, the sheer numbers forced officials to declare a state of emergency.

Otago Museum director and astronomer Dr Ian Griffin is predicting the full solar eclipse here will also be a big tourism drawcard.

He said it would track across the lower South Island, from Milford Sound to Ōtepoti Dunedin and it would occur about 4.15pm.

“Anyone who is on a line basically going through Queenstown and Alexandra — all those places in Central [Otago] from Milford to Dunedin will be able to see what those folks in America saw today. Of course it’s the middle of winter and the sun will be low in the sky, but that makes for some amazing pictures if we do get clear skies, so I’m particularly excited about it.”

Dunedin was planning to hold a Festival of Astronomy during that time, which also coincided with Matariki, he said.

But Griffin had his own plans.

“I bought a house 10 years ago right on the centreline of the eclipse and I intend to be sitting on my deck enjoying my view of the eclipse setting over the hills surrounding Dunedin, and I really can’t wait.”

He said before the total eclipse in four years, Aotearoa would also be treated to a small dress rehearsal on September 22 next year.

“There’s a really big partial eclipse of the sun which isn’t total, but a lot of the sun will be covered. The sun will be rising and will look like a great big smile in the morning sky.”

The total eclipse, which is set to pass over New Zealand in July 2028, will also track across Sydney along with other more remote parts of Australia.

Griffin said if the weather was good in New Zealand, that was where what he described as the “money shot” would be.

“If you’re in Milford Sound the sun will be setting behind Mitre Peak, eclipsed, and that really will be a picture for the ages.”

He said the eclipse would be a big global event and while Dunedin was already starting to make plans, he believed the rest of the country also needed to get ready for eclipse chasers to descend on our shores.

And he is a bit of an eclipse chaser himself.

He has witnessed the second-longest eclipse in history in Mexico in 1991, which was seven minutes in total, and in 2019 he travelled to Pitcairn Island to watch a total eclipse there.

Griffin described a total solar eclipse as “the most beautiful natural phenomenon on Earth”.