Total Solar Eclipse 2008 - Russia

Google Earth files for eclipses, aurorae and satellites.

xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleEarth.html

That's an excellent site, thanx Michael!

Just got a bit of info from newstalk (Irish radio station who do a travel section) about the trans siberian railway:

The trans-Siberian Railway TRANS

Looking for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that won't torch the ozone layer? Train journeys, by common rule of thumb, create 1/8th of the carbon emissions of a flight. And when it comes to trains, Russia's Trans-Siberian is the indisputable Daddy.

May to September is peak tourist season, but the first thing travellers should do is decide whether they wish to cross Siberia in summer or winter. The former offers more daylight and the possibility of venturing outdoors at numerous stops along the way; the latter is spectacularly photogenic.


Either way, the itinerary is awesome. All trains share a line via Irkutsk, Lake Baikal and Yekaterinburg (where Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family in 1918). From there, one can continue to Beijing or Vladivostok. The Moscow-Beijing train deviates via the Mongolian steppes, the Gobi Desert and the Great Wall of China. From Vladivostok, one can progress by sea to Tokyo.

As Paul Theroux writes in The Great Railway Bazaar: "The notion of travel as a continuous vision, a grand tour's succession of memorable images across a curved earth -- with none of the distorting emptiness of air or sea -- is possible only on a train."


Contact: It's advisable to book the Trans-Sib through a Russian or Western specialist agency. Real Russia ( www.realrussia.co.uk ) is an example of the former, and InTourist ( www.In Tourist.co.uk) the latter. Fares can cost up to €400 one-way. Check the excellent www.seat61.com for tips

Hi Albert,
I am afraid the only way to stay at a university room is to have an official invitation from the faculty.

Hi dfnsk, thanx for the translation!
Where will you be staying during the eclipse?

And is this the site of the TAL factory? --> www.astrovox.gr/forum/download.php?id=4577 (Google .kmz) at Zaelcovskaya?

I had a talk with university's representative. She said only students of Uni can rent rooms in dorm (or people somehow connected with it)

p.s. i have problems with my laptop now, so i rarely look into this forum, if you have some urgent questions - ask on novosibirskguide forum or via email.

Guys,

There is a sweet deal with one of the hotels in Novosibirsk with 2007 pricing (!) and they have sixteen rooms available. I am about to book one of these rooms ... for only 84 euro per night and which is much less than what is being offered elsewhere.

I was wondering if any friends here are certain (or close to being certain) about making it for the eclipse. My total cost for three nights accomodation plus complete round trip airfare and visa expenses will be 1000 euro (give or take 25 euro).

A second option is at Akademgorodok (110 euro/night) whose location is very attractive but it is more expensive and only four rooms with double accomodation are available. I can be coerced in pursuing this option but I would prefer a complete room to myself.

For those seriously interested, please decide rather quickly since those waiting till the last minute will have to pitch a tent and have Seanie stand guard.

PRICES FOR EQUIPMENT OF THE TAL-FACTORY

Hey! 3 new APOs announced from TAL!
Caution: What we would obviously - and very simply call "OTA", the russians probably call: "Telescope/ look-see" :shock:



Message from tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TALScopes/message/12919

"Here are some web-sites which might be of interest to Tal-users. The total
solar eclipse on Aug 1st, 2008, is visible in Novosibirsk:
www.total-eclipse-2008.com/
eng.olympia-reisen.ru/eclipse2008
Please, look carefully at the end of latter site. You can download a list of
telescopes availbale in Novosibirsk. This list mentions that there are at least three new scopes which are not listed on the official Tal-site
( www.telescopes.ru ): Tal 75R, Tal 75APO and Tal 125APO."