NGC 7822 (also designated Sharpless 171, SH 2-171) is a young irregular emission nebula and star forming region located in the constellation Cepheus. The complex is estimated to be some 3,300 light-years away. The nebula is home to the young star cluster Berkeley 59, whose stars are just a few million years old. Berkeley 59 includes one of the hottest stars discovered in the vicinity of our Sun, namely BD+66 1673, which is an eclipsing binary system consisting of a very bright star 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 cosmic pillars of cold molecular gas and clouds of dark dust – often called elephant trunks – which are powered by the young, hot stars, whose powerful winds and radiation also sculpt and erode the dense pillar shapes.