NGC
7822 is a young
star forming complex in the constellation of Cepheus.
The complex encompasses the emission region designated Sharpless 171, and
the young cluster of stars named Berkeley
59. The complex is believed to be some 800-1000 pc distant, with the younger components
aged no more than a few million years. The complex also includes one
of the hottest stars discovered within 1 kpc of the Sun, namely BD+66 1673,
which is an eclipsing binary system consisting of an O5V
that exhibits a surface temperature of nearly 45000 K and a luminosity
~100000 times that of the Sun. The star is one of the primary
sources illuminating the nebula and shaping the complex's famed pillars of
creation-type formations, the elephant
trunks.
