Discovered in 1792 by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, the Crescent Nebula (NGC6888, Caldwell 27, LBN 203, Sharpless 105), also known as "Van Gogh's Ear" is a magnitude 7.40 emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus (The Swan). It is formed by the violently fast stellar winds emanating from a Wolf-Rayet star (WR 136, HD192163) colliding with the slower gases that were shed by the same star many thousands of years ago when it was a red giant. The gaseous shell is approximately 25 light-years across and 5,000 light-years distant. It is predicted that the central Wolf-Rayet star will eventually explode into a supernova in approximately 100,000 years. Telescope: Sky Watcher Quantum 120 Apo @ f/7 Accessories: SW Quantum matched flattener; Dew control by Dew Buster; Alnitak Flat-Man; Gerd Neumann Aurora flat panel Mount: Takahashi EM-200 Temma2 Camera: QSI583wsg CCD @ -10.0C Guiding: Starlight Xpress Lodestar via PHD Filters: Astrodon 5nm Ha, OIII, SII Exposure: 12 x 20min. binned 1x1 each in Ha, OIII, SII Acquisition: ImagesPlus 5.0 Camera Control Processing: PixInsight 1.8; Adobe PhotoShop CS5; Noel Carboni’s Actions Date(s): June 3, 12, 13, 14, 2013 SQM reading (begin - end): N1:19.11 – 19.28; N2:18.92 – 19.15; N3:18.92 – 19.54; N4:18.89 – 19.39 Temperature (begin - end): N1:65.4ºF – 61.6ºF; N2:83.7ºF – 80.6ºF; N3:73.8ºF – 67.1ºF; N4:70.7ºF – 64.9ºF Capture conditions: N1 - transparency: Avg 3/5; seeing: Avg 3/5; N2 - transparency: Above Avg 4/5; seeing: Poor 2/5; N3 - transparency: Above avg 4/5; seeing: Poor 2/5; N4 - transparency: Avg 3/5; seeing: Avg 3/5 Location: Hendersonville, TN, USA