We report on our early photometric and spectroscopic observations of the extremely luminous Type II supernova ( SN ) 2008es .
With an observed peak optical magnitude of m _ { V } = 17.8 and at a redshift z = 0.213 , SN 2008es had a peak absolute magnitude of M _ { V } = -22.3 , making it the second most luminous SN ever observed .
The photometric evolution of SN 2008es exhibits a fast decline rate ( \sim 0.042 mag d ^ { -1 } ) , similar to the extremely luminous Type II-L SN 2005ap .
We show that SN 2008es spectroscopically resembles the luminous Type II-L SN 1979C .
Although the spectra of SN 2008es lack the narrow and intermediate-width line emission typically associated with the interaction of a SN with the circumstellar medium of its progenitor star , we argue that the extreme luminosity of SN 2008es is powered via strong interaction with a dense , optically thick circumstellar medium .
The integrated bolometric luminosity of SN 2008es yields a total radiated energy at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths of \gtrsim 10 ^ { 51 } ergs .
Finally , we examine the apparently anomalous rate at which the Texas Supernova Search has discovered rare kinds of supernovae , including the five most luminous supernovae observed to date , and find that their results are consistent with those of other modern SN searches .