SN 2016aps (also known as PS16aqy and AT2016aps) is the brightest and most energetic supernova explosion ever recorded.
[4] In addition to the sheer amount of energy released, an unusually large amount of the energy was released in the form of radiation, probably due to the interaction of the supernova ejecta and a previously lost gas shell.
[5] The event was discovered on 22 February 2016 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii,[6] with follow-up observations by the Hubble Space Telescope.
The supernova occurred at a high z-value indicating a distance of 3.6 billion light-years.
This led researchers to the theory that the progenitor star formed only shortly before the event from the merger of two very large stars, creating a "pulsational pair instability" supernova or possibly a full pair instability supernova.