The central star, a white dwarf, was identified in 2009, using the upgraded Wide Field Camera 3 on board the Hubble Space Telescope.

[2] The nebula featured in some of the first images released after the final servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope in September 2009.

[11] The nebula contains a prominent northwest lobe which extends up to 3.0′ away from the central star and is estimated to have formed from an eruptive event around 1,900 years ago.

The western edge of the lobe displays characteristics suggestive of a collision with pre-existing globules of gas which modified the outflow in that region.

The luminosity and temperature of the star indicate it has ceased nuclear burning and is on its way to becoming a white dwarf, fading at a predicted rate of 1% per year.

One of the characteristics of the dust detected in NGC 6302 is the existence of both oxygen-bearing silicate molecules and carbon-bearing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).