Twin moons (Final Fantasy IX)

Twin moons are the two moons orbiting the planet of Gaia in Final Fantasy IX. The original Gaian moon is blue, while the other, originating from Terra, is red.
The moons are not mentioned much in Final Fantasy IX, but the player can converse with people who talk about the moons in Daguerreo, and there is a Tetra Master card that depicts them.
==Story==
Five millennia ago the planet of Terra attempted to assimilate Gaia to save its weakening crystal. The Fusion was a failure and the planets only partially merged with Terra shifting inside the planet of Gaia.
As a result of the failed Fusion, Terra's red moon moved on Gaia's orbit, giving the planet two moons. Each moon radiates the color of its planet's crystal, and as Gaia's crystal radiates blue light, and Terra's crystal radiates red light, the moons acquire their colors.
==The lunar month==
Explained in the Final Fantasy IX UltimaniaFinal Fantasy IX Ultimania p.043, as the two moons orbit every sixteen days their positions switch, and the moons appear to overlap in a phenomenon similar to a solar eclipse. Only the Gaian moon's radiance is strong enough to be seen when it is directly behind Terra's moon. This is seen on the night Alexander is summoned. Because Terra's crystal is weak, the red moon doesn't glow as brightly, and when Gaia's moon covers Terra's, the red moon is left in shadow.
In an old development memo Hironobu Sakaguchi shared online, the play Tantalus Theater Troupe is about to perform at the beginning of the game is a "special play at night when two moons are full once a year". In the final game, I Want to Be Your Canary is being performed to honor Princess Garnet's birthday.
==Tetra Master==
==Other appearances==
===Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy===
What appears to be the planets of Gaia and Terra or their moons appear during Zidane and Kuja's EX Bursts: during the interactive parts the spheres slowly approach as the player taps to power up the attack. If the move is a "Perfect!", one of the spheres eclipses the other, based on the character's allegiance: Gaia's blue dominates in Zidane's EX Burst, while Terra's red dominates in Kuja's.
===Dissidia Final Fantasy NT===
The moons appear after the Alexandria stage transition with the Red Moon in front of the Blue Moon.
==Behind the scenes==
Ark's full-length summoning sequence shows it appearing from Terra's red moon. Ark itself seems to be some form of prototype airship of Terran design, seeing that its boss form resides in Oeilvert that houses airship concepts.
At the end of the ending credits the two moons appear to collide and from the explosion emerges the crystal that is the logo for Final Fantasy IX. The moons colliding imagery was used for Zidane's and Kuja's EX Modes in the Dissidia series.
The Japanese translation for High Tide is roughly "Gain Spirit of the Full Moon" hinting at some deeper connection to the moons and the ability to enter Trance.
==Gallery==
Amano Zidane holding some1.jpg|The moons appear on the background of a Yoshitaka Amano artwork.
EndingEvent6.png|Two moons in the "sky" in the stage production by Tantalus Theater Troupe.
HildaGarde2Event.png|Eclipse.
Gaia's moon during Night from FFIX Remastered.png|The blue moon during Night.
PAD Trance Zidane artwork.png|Artwork of Zidane with the moons on the background for Puzzle & Dragon.
==Etymology==
The moons are not named beyond being the "twin moons", but they allude to Final Fantasy IV where the Earth has two moons, the Red Moon originally belonging to an alien race. 
==References==
Category:Final Fantasy IX
Category:Moons