John Herschel discovered NGC 7822 = h2302 on 16 Nov 1829 and recorded "the central part of what I am positive is an enormously L, but eF neb of a round figure, though I cannot trace its limits. Diam 10'±. The night exquisite. I swept often across it to be sure, but always recurred to the same place. No doubt but can never be seen but in the best state of the air and sky. Diameter 10' +/-." Herschel's position is just north of the 60'x30' nebula described here, though it is not of a "round figure". Two unsuccessful obsesrvations were made with LdR's 72", probably due to the size.

Isaac Roberts gave dimensions of 42'x38' in MNRAS, Vol LXIII, p301 based on plates taken in 1901 and 1902, although his description (as well as possibly JH's) refers to Ced 214 = Sh 2-171, about 1.5° south of JH's position (part of the same complex). Dreyer repeated Robert's dimensions in the IC 2 Notes section. Harold Corwin's favors identifying Robert's nebula as NGC 7822, with Ced 215 (close to JH's position) as a secondary choice. Either are possible, but as JH didn't mention the mag 5.7 star involved in Ced 214, I prefer Ced 215.

400/500mm - 17.5" (8/25/95): very faint, very large nebulosity best viewed in the 16x80 finder as it gives a higher contrast with the surrounding sky. Appears elongated E-W and at least 40' in size. At 82x, nebulosity is clearly visible in the region of a triangle of mag 8-9 stars including mag 7.9 SAO 20996 at 00 00 57.5 +68 27 27 (2000). A large portion of the field appears weakly nebulous, though not with certainty.

The identification of NGC 7822 is uncertain and may apply to Ced 214 about 1.5 degrees to the south. Here are my descriptions for Ced 214 = Sh 2-171:

17.5" (10/4/97): Ced 214 was not detected unfiltered at 82x or using an OIII filter. With an H-Beta filter, a 40' field surrounding the mag 5.7 illuminating star appeared weakly nebulous in contrast to the immediate periphery. No structure noted, although seemed roughly circular. The small open cluster Be 59 is embedded on the NW side. This object may be NGC 7822 if John Herschel made a 1.5 degree error in declination.

Notes by Steve Gottlieb