Novosibirsk, the center of Siberia, will become the center of the unique total solar eclipse on August 1st 2008.
      
      An amazing astronomical phenomenon will take place in the Russian Siberia on August 1st 2008. The total eclipse with a width of about 250 km will cross the Western Siberia from the north to the south, then will cross the Altai Mountains and will go further to the difficult to access regions of China and Mongolia. The maximum eclipse will be at 10:21:08 UT, when the maximum time of the total phase will last just under 2:27 minutes in Nizhnevartovsk, 2:20 min in Novosibirsk and 2:14 min in the Altai region. Weather conditions in Siberia at this time of the year are also favorable for eclipse observation.
      
      The city is preparing to host thousands of tourists and organizing some free areas for watching the eclipse. About 100-150 telescopes will be set around the city.
      
      The next total solar eclipses will occur in Northern America in 2017, in Europe – in 2026, and in Russia – in 2030.
      
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