Getting ready for the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse!

 Are you ready for the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse?  I am so excited and just hoping the skys will be clear!  I happen to live in Lafayette, Indiana and so I will only need to travel just a bit south to get into the path totality.  

 To be ready for the eclipse I did a test run on the sun today with my telescope.  I was able to get my scope tracking the sun and snap a couple pictures.  Here is one picture using using my Stellarvue 90 mm telescope. .  It was fun to see a few sunspots showing up in the picture.

The sun on February 25, 2024 taken from my backyard in Lafayette, Indiana.

In order to take this picture, I needed to add a solar filter onto my telescope which I purchased from Spectrum Telescope.

The nice thing about this filter is it just slips right on the end of the telescope.  Spectrum makes all kinds of sizes of these filters and you can also get the filter in glass or film.   Film is going to make the sun look more white like my picture above.  The glass filters are a bit more expensive and will retain the yellow coloring of the sun.

Even my dog Beasley is ready to view the sun! 

NASA has a wonderful map of the upcoming total solar eclipse in April.  I hope we all get a great day to view it!  Check out NASA site on the solar eclipse including this map and others.

I will be looking up in the sky with all of you on April 8th!

Painting Skeletor from Master's of the Universe: Clash for Eternia

I am picking back up after painting He-Man with one of the best villain's of the 80s.    That would be Skeletor!!   I put these guides together mainly so I can remember how I painted these miniatures, but maybe some of you find it helpful if you get into painting.  

In this case I essentially tried to emulate a great tutorial found here:  Tutorial by Angel GiraldeZ.  I did not come that close to this greatness, but it was fun trying!

And you can find a guide to He Man here:   Painting He-Man