It appears as a ring-shaped (annular) transparent nebula resembling a piece of the breakfast cereal Cheerios, hence the name.

Filament and knots, and a faint shell surround the ring.

[2] Its magnitude is 11.90; its position in Scorpius is right ascension 17h 22m15.67s, declination -38° 29' 01.73".

There is convincing evidence that a binary nucleus exists at the center of the nebula,[3] with masses of 0.6 and 0.3 M⊙, and a separation of ≤ 1.26 R⊙, indicating a probable common envelope phase.

The Ghostly Cheerio's projected radial expansion is slow, averaging 1–2 kilometres per second (0.6–1.2 mi/s).