Hot, young stars and cosmic pillars of gas and dust seem to crowd into NGC 7822. At the edge of a giant molecular cloud toward the northern constellation Cepheus , this glowing star forming region lies about 3,000 light-years away. Within the nebula , bright edges and complex dust sculptures dominate this detailed skyscape taken in infrared light by NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) satellite. The atomic emission by the cluster's gas is powered by energetic radiation from the hot stars, whose powerful wind s and light also sculpt and erode the denser pillar shapes. Stars could still be forming inside the pillars by gravitational collapse , but as the pillars are eroded away, any forming stars will ultimately be cut off from their reservoir of star stuff . This field spans around 40 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 7822 .
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