[3][4] The complex has the following New General Catalogue (NGC) designations: The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of 5,000 light-years from Earth[6] and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter.

Altogether, approximately 2500 young stars lie in this star-forming complex, including the massive O-type stars HD 46223 and HD 46150, which are primarily responsible for blowing the ionized bubble.

[7][8] Most of the ongoing star-formation activity is occurring in the dense molecular cloud to the south east of the bubble.

[9] A diffuse X-ray glow is also seen between the stars in the bubble, which has been attributed to a super-hot plasma with temperatures ranging from 1 to 10 million K.[10] This is significantly hotter than the 10,000 K plasmas seen in HII regions, and is likely attributed to the shock-heated winds from the massive O-type stars.

On April 16, 2019, the Oklahoma Legislature passed HB1292 making the Rosette Nebula as the official state astronomical object.