[7] The owl-like appearance of the nebula is the result of an inner shell that is not circularly symmetric, but instead forms a barrel-like structure aligned at an angle of 45° to the line of sight.

[5] The nebula holds about 0.13 solar masses (M☉) of matter, including hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur;[5] all with a density of less than 100 particles per cubic centimeter.

[12] Of the object, he noted:[13][14][15][16]Nebula in the great Bear, near Beta: It is difficult to see, reports M. Méchain, especially when one illuminates the micrometer wires: its light is faint, without a star.

[20] More recent developments in the late 1900s include the discovery of a giant red halo of wind extended around its inner shells,[21] and the mapping of the nebula's structure.

To locate the nebula in the night sky, look to the southwest corner of the Big Dipper's bowl, marked by the star Beta Ursae Majoris.