The moderate surface brightness, a very blue color, low current star formation rate and low metallicity are consistent with it being a small (background) dwarf irregular galaxy, perhaps similar to Local Group dwarfs such as IC 1613 and Sextans A.

Arguments based on the observed radial velocity and the tentative detection of the RGB tip suggest that it lies well outside the confines of the Local Group.

[2] Further study using the Hubble Space Telescope has shown it to be a solitary irregular dwarf galaxy.

The Holmberg diameter is 1880 parsecs, but neutral atomic hydrogen gas extends more than eight times further out in a disk.

[3][4] It was discovered by Sidney van den Bergh in 1972.