Cessnock total solar eclipse, 22 July 2028

Cessnock eclipse times (AEST)

Cessnock town: eclipse begins 12:40:27 pm · maximum 2:01:31 pm · eclipse ends 3:14:51 pm. Totality in the southern villages runs from about 2:00:00 pm (Laguna) to 2:01:20 pm.

Twelve minutes to totality

Cessnock town sits about 5 km outside the edge, but the southern half of the LGA is in. Millfield, Paxton and Ellalong get about 1 min 07 to 16 s and are 12 to 15 minutes away. Wollombi (about 2 min 12 s) and Laguna (about 2 min 28 s) get more than double that. Bellbird and Kitchener are within about 2 km of the line, so don't rely on them.

Watch the shadow edge from the Watagans

The Narrow Place Lookout in Watagans National Park faces north over Paxton, Ellalong, Cessnock and Kurri Kurri, towards the Sun and out over the area just outside totality. From inside the path, you may see the shadow's edge darkening the valley in front of you while daylight lingers beyond it. Parking is limited and the last 5.6 km is unsealed, so go early.

Getting around

Wollombi Road and the Great North Road are two-lane country roads that will carry visitors from Maitland, Newcastle and Pokolbin. Leave early, carpool if you can, and use public reserves or venues rather than parking on farm gateways.

What you'll see from Cessnock, minute by minute

Phase times are AEST and worked out for Cessnock town.

1. 12:40:27 pmfirst contact. Look up through your glasses and you'll see a small dent form on the right-hand side of the Sun. In town, the glasses go on now and stay on.
2. About 1:31 pmthe Sun is about 55% covered. Under any tree the dappled shadows turn into small crescents, and the daylight takes on a flat, slightly metallic tone.
3. About 1:46 pmabout 79% covered. The temperature starts to fall, birds may stop calling, and early afternoon looks more like late afternoon.
4. About 1:56 pmabout 95% covered. The Moon's shadow is coming in from the north-west at more than 4,000 km/h, and that side of the sky begins to darken.
5. 2:01:31 pmmaximum eclipse, 100.0% covered. In town a very thin crescent of Sun hangs on, which keeps it dim and strange but well short of night, so glasses stay on. Turn south towards Millfield, Paxton and the Watagans: the sky over the path may look clearly darker.
6. 3:14:51 pmlast contact. The Moon leaves the Sun's disc and the eclipse is over for Cessnock.

Where the edge is

Cessnock town is about 5 km north of the line that marks the edge of the path. From the coast at Caves Beach and Swansea it runs north-west past Wangi Wangi and Toronto, passes under Cessnock and through Pokolbin, then goes between Broke and Singleton and on past Denman and Merriwa. On the town side, which takes in Nulkaba, Abernethy and Kurri Kurri, the eclipse tops out at about 99 to 99.99%. That means no corona and no stars. On the southern side, totality lengthens fast and then levels off: about 50 s at 2 km inside the edge, 75 s at 5 km, 1 min 40 s at 10 km and about 2½ min at 22 km. Quorrobolong, close to the line, gets 31 s; Laguna, well inside, gets 2 min 28 s. Bellbird and Kitchener are both within about 2 km of the edge, so plan as if they have no totality.

Where to look

For totality, look about 30° up in the north-north-west, on a bearing of 327° true. That is roughly a third of the way from the horizon to overhead, so a distant view is not needed, only a clear stretch of sky on that side. The Narrow Place Lookout already faces north, towards the Sun's side of the sky, and the open farmland at Millfield and the open valley at Paxton and Ellalong leave plenty of room. In Wollombi village, choose a spot where buildings and trees to the NNW are not in the way. The test: an object to your NNW blocks the Sun if you stand closer to it than about 1.8 times its height, so stay 18 m back from a 10 m tree, or 110 m from a 20-storey (60 m) building.

In the southern villages, keep back from anything to your NNW by 1.8× its own height. For a 10 m tree that is 18 m; for a 20-storey tower, 110 m.

Where to watch in Cessnock

Eclipse times around Cessnock

Times AEST, computed from JPL DE421 lunar ephemeris and cross-checked against NASA/Espenak Besselian elements. Quorrobolong and the other places close to the edge can be out by 10 s or more.

Weather odds and crowds

Cloud records for the area come from the Cessnock (Nulkaba) station. An average July there has 7.7 clear days against 8.1 cloudy ones, and the mean 3 pm temperature is 16.6°C.

Cessnock's southern villages will be the closest totality for the whole Lower Hunter (Maitland, Kurri Kurri, Cessnock, Pokolbin visitors). Expect village roads to saturate.

Eye safety

In Cessnock town the Sun is never fully covered, so certified ISO 12312-2 glasses stay on from first contact at 12:40:27 pm to last contact at 3:14:51 pm. In Millfield, Paxton, Ellalong, Wollombi or Laguna, the rule is the same: keep them on for the whole eclipse, from first contact to last contact, including the minutes of totality. Do not use sunglasses, smoked glass or homemade filters, and do not look through a camera, binoculars or a telescope unless it has a proper solar filter fitted on the front.

For schools, councils and businesses in Cessnock

With the eclipse on a Saturday, schools across the Cessnock LGA will need to give out glasses and teach the safety rules on Friday 21 July 2028 or before. The council, clubs and venues planning a viewing day should work on one certified pair per person. In town, Nulkaba and Kurri Kurri, and in Millfield, Paxton, Ellalong and Wollombi, people will wear them for the whole two and a half hours, including the minute or two of totality inside the path. With 63,632 people in the area, and visitors heading south from Maitland and Pokolbin as well, stock will get tight in the final weeks. We supply bulk cartons, fundraising boxes of 20 to 250 pairs for schools and clubs, and custom-branded glasses from 500 units, each run with an artwork proof before printing.

• Bulk & wholesale
• Custom-branded glasses
• School & club fundraising
• Eclipse safety plan for schools

FAQ

More eclipse guides nearby

• Hunter Valley eclipse guide
• Maitland eclipse guide
• Singleton eclipse guide
• Lake Macquarie eclipse guide
• 2028 eclipse times across Australia
• Interactive eclipse map

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