Two stars smash into each other deep in space: Pictures show how the greatest firework show in the universe looked

The stunning explosion sent gold and other precious metals flying across the universe, and wobbled the fabric of spacetime

An artist's concept of the explosion of two neutron stars, an event that sent shockwaves through the very fabric of the universe (ILLUSTRATION BY ROBIN DIENEL COURTESY OF THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE)

A new image shows one of the most spectacular, violent events in the entire universe.

Two ultra-dense stars have been spotted colliding with each other deep in space. The event was so intense that it sent ripples coursing through the fabric of spacetime, wobbling the universe and sending out streams of gold and other precious metals.

It's been described as perhaps the greatest firework show in the entire universe.

The event happened 138 million lightyears away. But it only just reached us this summer, and with it brought a "new chapter in astrophysics" and the opportunity to know more about our universe than ever before.

Of course, scientists couldn't actually see the firework show itself. It was first detected by "hearing" the ripples it caused in spacetime, at detectors at LIGO, and was then confirmed by using telescopes to spot the huge amount of energy that was thrown out.

But all of that information gives researchers clues to what such an event might have looked like – as well as the small business of how the universe might have formed. And the glorious show has been reconstructed in an image by Robin Dienel.

The image shows the explosive collision of the two stars. Before this moment, they would have been circling around each other, pulled together in a fatal dance that saw them spinning and gradually moving closer.

When they crashed into each other, it unleashed one of the most violent moments that the universe has ever seen. And it's that which is depicted in the stunning new image.