At first, there was nothing dramatic about the galaxy. ESO 130 G012 sits relatively close by cosmic standards, about 55 million light-years from Earth. It is an edge-on spiral with a steady but unremarkable pace of star formation. Nothing about it suggested spectacle. But while astronomers were slowly scanning radio images from Australia’s ASKAP telescope, something unfamiliar started to appear. It did not shout for attention. It stretched. A faint, balanced shape rose above and below the galaxy’s thin disk, growing clearer the longer they looked. It felt more like a background presence than a discovery moment. Only after careful inspection did the scale sink in. This was not a small disturbance or a local feature. It was vast, structured, and oddly calm in its symmetry.
Hourglass-shaped structure spotted by Astronomers while observing a galaxy
When viewed in radio light, the structure extends far beyond the visible stars. Material flows upward from the galactic plane, then slowly spreads outward, forming a wide funnel on both sides. The result resembles an hourglass standing upright in space. From top to bottom, the outflow stretches nearly 160,000 light-years. That distance alone makes it difficult to ignore.The waist of the hourglass sits close to the galaxy’s centre. It spans roughly 33,000 light years and aligns with the star-forming disc. Above and below that region, the flow opens at a steady angle, about 30 degrees, without obvious bends or breaks. It does not look chaotic. It looks guided.
Where did this structure come from
ASKAP picked up the outflow at a frequency of 944 MHz during observations for the Evolutionary Map of the Universe project. These images are designed to be deep and wide, revealing faint radio features that older surveys missed.In a study published on arXiv, what emerged was not a single plume but a layered system. There is a compact radio core at the centre. Around it sit knots of emission linked to an inner stellar ring. Beyond that lies a thin disk and then a thicker, box shaped structure. From the edges of this box, radio wings stretch outward in an X like pattern. Those wings form the walls of the hourglass.This kind of structure is rarely seen rising directly from a galaxy’s disk, especially one that looks otherwise quiet.
Could normal star formation really cause this
One of the more surprising aspects of the discovery is what the galaxy is not doing. It is not forming stars at an extreme rate. ESO 130 G012 creates about 0.2 solar masses of stars per year. That is modest, even by local galaxy standards.Yet the researchers suggest that steady star formation across the entire disk could be enough. Stellar winds, supernova explosions, and pressure from cosmic rays may collectively push material upward over long periods. Rather than a sudden blast, the outflow may have built slowly, shaped by the structure of the disk itself.If true, it challenges the idea that only violent starbursts can drive galaxy scale winds.
Is a black hole involved at all
There is another possibility that remains open. The galaxy hosts a central black hole with an estimated mass of 50 million Suns. Today, it appears quiet. There are no strong signs of active feeding or bright jets.But galaxies remember their past. The X shaped radio wings seen in the outflow are often associated with active galactic nuclei. That raises the possibility that the black hole was more energetic long ago. A previous active phase could have launched material outward, leaving behind a structure that still lingers in radio light.The data does not yet favour one explanation over the other. Both may have played a role.
Why is this discovery unusual for nearby galaxies
Large bipolar outflows are more commonly seen in distant galaxies or in systems undergoing intense change. Finding one so close, and in a galaxy that appears settled, is rare.ESO 130 G012 does not look disturbed in optical images. Its stars follow clean lines. Its disk is intact. There are no obvious signs of a recent collision. And yet, above and below it, the radio halo tells a different story.That contrast is what makes the observation valuable. It hints that galaxy evolution can be quieter and slower than expected, but still capable of producing enormous structures.
What questions does this raise going forward
The researchers describe the galaxy as a promising target for studying how disks connect to their surrounding haloes. The outflow offers a chance to test models of how energy moves through a galaxy without dramatic triggers.For now, the hourglass remains suspended in radio light. It does not announce itself. It simply exists, stretching calmly into space, a reminder that even ordinary galaxies can carry long histories written far beyond their visible edges.
