The universe has just been shaken by something terrible like never before.

An international team of researchers has captured a rare phenomenon they describe as "universe-shaking", occurring 290 light years from Earth.

Despite the distance, the shockwaves from the event were so powerful that if we were to translate them into audible sound, it would sound like the sonic boom of a fighter jet was reverberating around us.

The phenomenon was created by five ancient monsters devouring each other.

The Stephan Quintet system, with its members constantly passing close to each other. A recent pass shook the universe - (Image: NASA).

This universe-shaking event occurred in the Stephan Quintet system, a group of five nearby galaxies.

Recently, the largest of these galaxies, NGC 7318b, has collided with the remaining four smaller galaxies and begun a merger, or rather, the other four galaxies will be swallowed by NGC 7318b.

It was a massive release of energy. Shockwaves from the event were shot out at speeds of up to 3.2 million kilometers per hour.

"This is basically a giant intergalactic debris field. The new intruder NGC7318b crashed into the debris field, and compressed the plasma and gas within it," astrophysicist Marina Arnaudova from the University of Hertfordshire explained to Live Science.

In doing so, NGC 7318b re-energizes the plasma, causing it to glow brightly at radio frequencies.

As deadly and devastating as this may seem, it has fueled increased star formation in the merger region.

Named after the French astronomer Édouard Stephan, who discovered the galaxy in the 19th century, Stephan's Quintet is a group of five galaxies "locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters ," according to NASA.

This group of galaxies has been imaged by several of the most powerful space telescopes, including the Hubble and James Webb missions led by NASA.

Scientists hope the new discovery will reveal important secrets about the violent evolution of our universe.