‘Supermoon’ shines over PH; forecast is for rain

The “Supermoon”, the biggest and brightest moon of the year, was visible in the Philippines under clear to partly cloudy skies at 6:29 p.m. Sunday night.

Called perigee-syzygy by the scientific community, the phenomenon occurs when the moon is closest in its orbit to the earth, making it bigger than the average full moon.

The last supermoon was on March 19, 2011.

Ruben Cunanan, astronomical officer of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), noted that the best time to have observed the cosmic show was at moonrise—when the moon appeared above the eastern horizon. He said the full moon appeared 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.

It could be seen with the naked eye, he added.

Meanwhile, the weather bureau advised those venturing outdoors to start bringing an umbrella as warm and humid weather will alternate with sudden rain showers and thunderstorms in the next three days.

Pagasa said the Philippines would see more isolated showers early this week although this did not mean the dry season was over. For instance, there would be certain times in the day when Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon would experience clear skies, with mid-30 degrees Celsius temperatures.

Pagasa said a ridge of high pressure area, which is associated with dry and warm weather, was extending over Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

Last week, Metro Manila experienced sudden downpours and cooler weather after weeks of scorching heat.

Pagasa forecaster Glaiza Escullar said Metro Manila and surrounding provinces today would experience cloudy skies and isolated rain showers in the afternoons. She noted that this would be particularly felt in the city, where the heat is seen to enhance the convection process, which produces rain clouds. Yesterday, rains were reported in Quezon City, Antipolo City and Batangas province.

Escullar said the Visayas and Mindanao would also experience cloudy skies and sudden downpours. However, a low pressure area off Mindanao is seen to cause widespread rains in the region by Monday.