[12] It was quickly noted as a very unusual object after being detected at 20 microns as one of the brightest sources in the sky with a large infrared excess, and was compared to Eta Carinae during one of its outbursts.

[11] Some authors had grouped IRC +10420 with the proto-planetary nebulae because of the surrounding nebulosity, but it was widely recognised as a highly luminous supergiant.

[15] Despite being one of the most luminous stars known, 513,000 times brighter than the Sun,[6] IRC +10420 cannot be seen with the naked eye and needs a telescope to be observed.

This suggests IRC +10420 is a former red supergiant that is evolving blueward on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram to become a luminous blue variable, or Wolf–Rayet star.

This nebula has been studied with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, showing a complex structure that includes arcs, rays, and condensations and that has been compared to the one surrounding the red hypergiant VY Canis Majoris.