[3][4] 4C +41.17 is classified as one of the largest radio galaxies in the early universe with emission at Ks spread nonuniformly over a 3 × 6 (42 × 84 kpc) area.

The second component is located near the base of a cone-shaped region that is southwest of the nucleus, resembling emission-line cones seen in nearby active galactic nuclei and starburst galaxies.

This signifies the X-ray emission is most likely an inverse Compton scattering of photons that are far-infrared from a relativistic electron population associate with past and current activity from the central object.

[17] Hubble Space Telescope did observe 4C +41.17 through detections using good signal-to-noise ratio with a spatially resolution of 0.1" (440 pc); this suggests 35% of this emission ends up in the form of a high brightness clumpy regions extending by about 0.5" (1.7 kpc).

[18] Deep spectropolarimetric observations via the W. M. Keck Telescope conducted by researchers in Hawaii, finds out that 4C +41.17 is unpolarized between ʎ rest ~ 1400 Å2000 Å.

Instead, they found that 4C +41.17 show absorption lines and features of P Cygni similar to those seen in z ≈ 2–3 star-forming galaxies and nearby starburst systems containing Wolf-Rayets.

[19] Through the detection of S V λ1502 stellar photospheric absorption line, the shape of blue wing of the Si IV profile, unpolarized continuum emission, the inability of any active galactic nuclei-related processes accounted for the ultraviolet continuum flux, and similarity of the UV continuum spectra of 4C 41.17 overall as well as the nearby star-forming region NGC 1741B1, these characteristics strongly suggest that ultraviolet light from 4C 41.17 is dominated by young, hot stars, in which its star formation rate is roughly 140-1100 h-250 M⊙ yr-1.

In this case of the jet-cloud interaction evident near the radio knot B2 in 4C +41.17, researchers suggested a glancing incidence of the jet causes a partial bow shock, that is driven into towards the cloud.

The C IV emission is narrower indicating most of the flux originates in the precursor material that is ahead of bow shock.

The free-fall time for the cloud density is estimated to be tff ≈ 2100-1/2 ≈ 1.4 × 107 (nh/10 cm−3) -1/2 that is comparable to the dynamical timescale of the radio source in 4C +41.17 itself.