The nova reached magnitude 5.5 in 1899, and Fleming apparently thought it had a nebulous appearance when she observed it in 1901. But now, as shown in the approximately 5 arcmin wide image centered on the nova's position (near the double star just above the label), no object brighter than 15th magnitude is visible near its location.

For a detailed discussion of the confusion involving the discovery and mis-discovery of this nebula, see Steinicke's article.