<p>Wikipedia has a page on this:</p>

<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)</a>    </p>

<p>I would have guessed the recently observed merging of 2 black holes, which, while just hard to detect gravity waves, in terms of energy it was about the equivalent of the entire rest mass of our sun.  Two large (but not super-massive) black holes each about 30 solar masses, merged and released about 3 solar masses in energy in gravity waves.   That's a huge amount of energy.  </p>

<p>I'd have guessed wrong though, as an observed gamma ray burst was bigger.  (see link above for precise estimates).</p>

<p>In theory, since I assume you're talking about localized events, when 2 galaxies merge and their super-massive black holes collide, that's probably, hands down, the most energetic local event, far surpassing the largest gamma-ray bursts.  Gravity waves might not be what people think of as energetic, but they can be enormously so.    If you're talking more typical "bright flash", photons and accelerated particles, then the winner would be the largest gamma ray bursts.    Hypernova's are up there, but not as large as the largest Gamma-ray Bursts.</p>

<p>Now if you want to get flexible on what "local" means.  The gravitational energy of two large galaxies falling towards each other might get you a larger number, but I'm a little fuzzy on whether that qualifies as a local event", which I've built this answer on.   </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-14T22:07:41.207Z
If you're talking about GRB 221009A from that list, it looks like that's not corrected for the narrow beam of the gamma ray burst, meaning the actual energy of the event was far less.
Nick S
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-24T04:37:24.637Z
2016-08-24T04:37:24.637Z
userLTK
<p>It depends on the gamma ray burst, but it is possible for some quasars and some high end super/hypernovae to produce an equal or greater amount of energy (this is from the perspective of those that involve single stars or stellar remnants-we are leaving galaxies, galaxy clusters, etc. out of it)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-21T21:17:48.097Z
2016-08-21T21:17:48.097Z
user13872
<p>That's the question. I know about gamma ray bursts, is there anything more energetic?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-22T16:05:45.413Z
This question makes no sense unless "events" are somehow localized in space and time. Otherwise the obvious winners are global events like stellar evolution and cosmic speed-up.
Dmitry Grigoryev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T11:21:40.523Z
@DmitryGrigoryev Are global events so energetic, tho'?
Williham Totland
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T11:39:34.320Z
@WillihamTotland Since dark energy (responsible for the speed-up) constitutes 68% of the universe, I'd say cosmic speed-up is the most energetic by definition.
Dmitry Grigoryev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T11:48:10.967Z
@DmitryGrigoryev There's a lot of gravity involved, tho', and also a _lot_ of space. It might have the most _total_ energy, but per unit volume?
Williham Totland
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T12:16:51.707Z
@WillihamTotland This is exactly the issue my first comment states. The question has little meaning unless constraints on time and space are defined.
Dmitry Grigoryev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-23T12:37:33.800Z
@DmitryGrigoryev While I agree that the question could be refined, I feel as if an even moderately charitable reading of the question as stated can give an answer (probably 'Hypernovae', but I digress). Global events are processes that are so slow and so large scale that a novice could hardly be blamed for failing to take them into account.
Williham Totland
<cosmology><astrophysics>
Which are the most energetic events in the Universe?
Carlos Vázquez Monzón
# Which are the most energetic events in the Universe?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-21)

That's the question. I know about gamma ray bursts, is there anything more energetic?

**Tags:** cosmology, astrophysics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This question makes no sense unless "events" are somehow localized in space and time. Otherwise the obvious winners are global events like stellar evolution and cosmic speed-up.  
> **username_2**: @DmitryGrigoryev Are global events so energetic, tho'?  
> **username_1**: @WillihamTotland Since dark energy (responsible for the speed-up) constitutes 68% of the universe, I'd say cosmic speed-up is the most energetic by definition.  
> **username_2**: @DmitryGrigoryev There's a lot of gravity involved, tho', and also a _lot_ of space. It might have the most _total_ energy, but per unit volume?  
> **username_1**: @WillihamTotland This is exactly the issue my first comment states. The question has little meaning unless constraints on time and space are defined.  
> **username_2**: @DmitryGrigoryev While I agree that the question could be refined, I feel as if an even moderately charitable reading of the question as stated can give an answer (probably 'Hypernovae', but I digress). Global events are processes that are so slow and so large scale that a novice could hardly be blamed for failing to take them into account.  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2016-08-24. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Wikipedia has a page on this:

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)>

I would have guessed the recently observed merging of 2 black holes, which, while just hard to detect gravity waves, in terms of energy it was about the equivalent of the entire rest mass of our sun. Two large (but not super-massive) black holes each about 30 solar masses, merged and released about 3 solar masses in energy in gravity waves. That's a huge amount of energy.

I'd have guessed wrong though, as an observed gamma ray burst was bigger. (see link above for precise estimates).

In theory, since I assume you're talking about localized events, when 2 galaxies merge and their super-massive black holes collide, that's probably, hands down, the most energetic local event, far surpassing the largest gamma-ray bursts. Gravity waves might not be what people think of as energetic, but they can be enormously so. If you're talking more typical "bright flash", photons and accelerated particles, then the winner would be the largest gamma ray bursts. Hypernova's are up there, but not as large as the largest Gamma-ray Bursts.

Now if you want to get flexible on what "local" means. The gravitational energy of two large galaxies falling towards each other might get you a larger number, but I'm a little fuzzy on whether that qualifies as a local event", which I've built this answer on.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: If you're talking about GRB 221009A from that list, it looks like that's not corrected for the narrow beam of the gamma ray burst, meaning the actual energy of the event was far less.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2016-08-21. Score: -2

It depends on the gamma ray burst, but it is possible for some quasars and some high end super/hypernovae to produce an equal or greater amount of energy (this is from the perspective of those that involve single stars or stellar remnants-we are leaving galaxies, galaxy clusters, etc. out of it)


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