[11] Assuming a distance of 2.2 kiloparsecs, the star would be 220,000 times brighter than the Sun, having a surface temperature of 12,000 K.[10] At that distance it can be calculated to be losing mass through a fierce stellar wind at roughly 1.46×10−6 solar masses per year[13] however this is to be muted somewhat as work realized in 2012 from the VLT reveal a binary star system – [14] a companion exists around 4.5 magnitudes fainter than the primary.

[13] Said studies show that HD 168625 is actually surrounded by two nebulae: an inner one that has an elliptical shape and a very complex structure that includes arcs and filaments,[11] and a much larger outer one discovered with the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope that has a bipolar shape and that looks like a clone of the one surrounding Sanduleak -69° 202, the progenitor of the supernova 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

[17] This suggests Sanduleak −69° 202 was also a luminous blue variable as well as the possibility of HD 168625 exploding as a Type II supernova in the near future.

[17] East-north-east of the star and nebula is HD 168701 (HIP 90001), an eclipsing binary of beta Lyrae type.

[18] It is at about six times the angular separation of HD 168607 viewed from the solar system and is the third very bright point to the south-east of the nebula.