Mark the calendar: Australia's next total solar eclipse

They'll have to wait 21 years for the next chance to experience a total solar eclipse but for Australia it's only four years away.

In April 2023 thousands flocked to the remote Exmouth Peninsula in Western Australia to experience a total solar eclipse.

It was the first of five total solar eclipses within 15 years to cross over Australia.

Australia's next total solar eclipse will be on July 22, 2028 and it's set to be a good one, according to CSIRO astronomer Dr Vanessa Moss.

"One of the really exciting things about this particular eclipse is it goes directly over the Sydney CBD, but also over a huge stretch of Australia as well," Dr Moss said.

"So there's a lot of opportunities across the whole continent to see a total solar eclipse which is often not the case."

The path of totality - where the moon will completely block out the sun and cast a shadow - will stretch from Wollongong nearly all the way to Newcastle, with Bathurst, Orange and Dubbo also in line for prize viewing.

"It's a really accessible one as far as solar eclipses go," Dr Moss said.

And that's part of what makes total solar eclipses such a special event on the calendar - how accessible they are to the public.

"With a relatively cheap pair of solar glasses you can view it without any special equipment," Dr Moss said.

"It's also something so different - it's so strange to suddenly have night during day, it has an impact on wildlife because it's just so unexpected.

"And I think it reminds us, for me at least, of our place in something bigger than earth... it's a really good chance to look outwards."

After 2028, Australia will wait just two years for the next total solar eclipse on November 25, 2030.

Then on July 13, 2037 and December 26, 2038.

In the meantime Aussies can look out for the Devil Comet lighting up our skies around Anzac Day 2024 for the first time in 71 years.