(Carbondale, IL) — Tourism officials in southern Illinois are predicting a future bright enough to require shades because of a solar eclipse that’s expected to attract thousands of visitors next year. August 21st, 2017 is the date for the first solar eclipse over the United States mainland since 1979 and the best vantage point for the two-minute, 40-second totality is a few miles south of Carbondale. SIU officials project 30- to 50-thousand visitors on campus that day, but regional tourism groups say there could be more than a million visitors in the area.
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David Stewart/mdj IL) WI)
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