The star reached apparent magnitude 4.5, making it easily visible to the naked eye.

It was discovered on 8 March 1898, by Williamina Fleming on a photographic plate taken at the Harvard College Observatory.

[7] The astronomical literature contains a variety of values for V1059 Sagittarii's peak brightness.

[2] Novae are usually classified as "fast" or "slow" based on the time it takes the star to drop from peak brightness by more than 3 magnitudes (T3), but for this nova the decline from maximum was poorly observed, and no T3 value has been reported.

The two stars are so close to each other that matter is transferred from the donor to the white dwarf.