NASA has confirmed that the longest total solar eclipse of the next 12,000 years will occur on 16 July 2186, offering 7 minutes 29 seconds of darkness along a track that crosses the Atlantic Ocean and reaches land over Colombia, Venezuela and Guyana. Precise orbital modelling shows the Moon will be at perigee and Earth near aphelion, allowing an exceptionally long period of totality. The announcement comes as astronomers prepare for a series of high-profile eclipses this decade. On 22 July 2028 a path roughly 230 kilometres wide will sweep from Western Australia to New Zealand, plunging Sydney into its first total solar eclipse since 1857. The Astronomical Society of Australia forecasts up to 5 minutes 10 seconds of totality in remote parts of Western Australia, while Sydney can expect around three minutes, weather permitting. Before then, the final total solar eclipse of 2025 will close out this year’s celestial calendar, underscoring a run of increasingly anticipated events for eclipse chasers and tourism operators worldwide.