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The smiling moon showed its face at just the time when desperate Bangkokians need something, anything, to feel good about. Monday's early evening spectacle was a rare phenomenon in which sunlight reflected back from the earth to the moon and vice versa. People around the world saw the waxing crescent moon with Venus and Jupiter forming the eyes of a smiley face in the night sky. Having checked the smiling face from several places around the world, Bangkokian is proud to say that the happy visage that Thais saw on Monday night was the best and clearest anywhere.

From 6pm to 8pm the spectacle could be seen in the southwest. Thais called their friends to tell them to look up at the sky. Some desperate Thais even took the phenomenon as a fortuitous omen. Some sent SMS messages to morning programmes remarking upon the beauty of the spectacle and urging political adversaries to come to their senses.

Astronomers call this rare phenomenon "earthshine" but Thais called it the "smiling moon". We can take some comfort from the thought that the moon will always smile on Thailand while many countries are advising their citizens to stay away from us.

Thai astrologers were quick to interpret this rare phenomenon. Most saw it as a good sign. One, Pinyo Pongcharoen, predicted that the political situation should be resolved soon as the moon was aligned with good planets: Venus and Jupiter. Luk Raekhanites, a fortune-teller, said that the planets' positions came at an auspicious time. Therefore, people should take this opportunity to show their compassion to each other.

Even Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who saw the phenomenon in Chiang Mai, was optimistic. He said, "Today, even the moon is smiling at us. It shows that heaven is real."