Sh2-187 is a complex area of gas, molecular clouds and dust. Multifrequeny studies indicate the HII region is fragmented and still partially encased in the parental cloud out of which it was born some 200,000 years ago. Only 3 percent of the HII region is optically visible and is ionized by a BO class star with a magnitude of 0.5. The molecular cloud covers approximately 1 degree. Numerous IR point sources are embedded within the complex, one source is most likely an H2O maser and the remainder are either proto stars or stars. (Joncas, et.al. 1992)
A search of the web for amateur images of this area found only two images labeled as Sh2-187 and both were of NGC 7822. A review of the original Sharpless catalogue plus 2MASS and Chandra data confirmed that the above is indeed SH2 -187.
SH2-171 encompasses CED 214 and NGC 7822.