MANILA, Philippines—Now showing in the Philippine night sky: A smiling face formed by the rare alignment of the planets Venus and Jupiter and directly below it, the crescent moon.

Jose Pepe Mendoza of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday that Venus had aligned with Jupiter to form the right and left eyes respectively while the moon, on its first phase, had formed a happy mouth.

Mendoza said there was a similar “planetary conjunction” of the same planets in February “but only in the morning sky... It is pretty rare to see this in the evening sky.”

He explained that the moon was “waxing crescent into its first quarter” together with Venus and Jupiter against the background of the constellation Sagittarius.

The conjunction can be viewed, Mendoza said, in the country’s south-western horizon.

The smiling face can also be seen in Australia. However, the sky show in the United States and Europe will have Jupiter, Venus and the moon in a frown, a survey of news reports on the Web showed.

Mendoza said the unusual alignment will be visible until January next year. Astronomers are in for another heavenly treat, he added, because on December 13, there will be a meteor shower.

Is a smiley in the heavens a good or bad omen?

“There are people who believe that the smiling face would bring good luck, or good results in whatever one undertakes,” Mendoza said.

However, he could not say if the alignment would be good for the country’s political situation.

According to an astrologer, Resti Santiago, the alignment bodes well for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in forming alliances and partnerships -- a fortuitous coincidence, as her allies are marshalling moves to amend the Constitution, allegedly to extend her term.

Her good luck, however, could be short-lived, he warned.

Basing his analysis on the astrological chart of the President, Santiago said: “Her chart shows that these days, there will be some luck for her in forming partnerships and alliances. This good luck has been activated by the recent alignment of three heavenly bodies ... but next week will be a turbulent time because the sun and Mars will form a negative alignment with Saturn and Uranus.”

Nonetheless, Santiago said, the “smiling face” will bring good luck since Venus and Jupiter are considered lucky planets.

Also in luck are those born in the signs of Taurus, Capricorn and Virgo, he said.