Infrared spectra shows the object contains water vapor and methane and has a surface temperature of approximately 480–560 kelvins.

[1] UGPS 0722-05 was discovered by Philip Lucas at the University of Hertfordshire and announced in 2010.

The discovery image was taken on 28 November 2006 by the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) with a recovery image confirming the object's proper motion on 2 March 2010.

[1] It was initially reported to be at an even closer distance of 2.9 parsecs (9.5 light-years), which would have placed it among the ten nearest astronomical objects to the Sun,[9] but later measurements revealed that the object was in fact located at a greater distance than initially thought, at 4.1+0.6−0.5 parsecs (13.4+2.0−1.6 light-years).

[3] Radial velocity of UGPS 0722-05, measured by Bochanski et al. and published in 2011, is 46.9±2.5 km/s.