SINGAPORE - It was meant to be the largest and most lustrous moon of the year, but for many in Singapore, Wednesday's (July 13) supermoon remained hidden behind a curtain of clouds.

According to the National Environment Agency website, the weather condition on Wednesday was forecasted to be partly cloudy in all regions of Singapore from 9pm to 11pm.

"It's very cloudy for most of South-east Asia so our chance with the moon might be slim," said Mr Tan Jyh Harng, 29, a science educator at Science Centre Singapore.

According to him, the moon rose at 6.56pm from the south-east on Wednesday and will set at 7.31am on Thursday in the south-west.

Despite the cloudy conditions, some Singaporeans caught a glimpse of the supermoon at the Bukit Merah, Bukit Panjang and Jurong West area at around 9pm when the moon rose above trees and most buildings.

Cyber security consultant, Mr Lim Rong Ding, 29, was skateboarding at Xtreme Skatepark at East Coast Park when he saw the supermoon at around 9.15pm. 

“I didn’t know that it was the super buck moon and when I saw it, I just found it weird that it was bigger and brigher than the usual moon,” said Mr Lim. 

He added that the moon was still slightly hidden behind the clouds and could not be seen very clearly.

Those who missed the supermoon can still catch a very bright moon on Thursday night, should clear skies prevail.

Wednesday's supermoon was supposed to appear bigger and brighter as it came 27,136km closer to Earth than it usually does, and was at the point in its orbit closest to Earth.

Said Mr Tan: "According to timeanddate.com, for a moon to be considered a supermoon, the average distance between the centre of the full moon to the centre of the Earth needs to be less than 360,000km."

The distance between the supermoon and Earth was 357,264km on Wednesday night.

As the supermoon occurs in the month of July - the season when deers' antlers are in full growth - it is also referred to as the "super buck moon".

"Supermoons are not exactly rare as they occur maybe three to four times a year but it would be nicer to look at today's moon as it is brighter and looks more phenomenal," said Mr Tan.

The super buck moon was last sighted in Singapore in July 2014.

Mr Tan noted that if there is rain or the sky is cloudy, people may see only a faint glow.

He advised people using a telescope to use moon filters as the moon will be very bright and may be too glaring.

The last supermoon of the year will occur on Aug 12.