Beaumont (crater)

Beaumont
	Lunar Orbiter 4 image
Coordinates	18°00′S 28°48′E / 18.0°S 28.8°E
Diameter	50.69 km
Depth	1.7 km
Colongitude	332° at sunrise
Eponym	L. É. de Beaumont

Oblique view facing south from Apollo 11

Beaumont is a basalt-flooded crater located on the southwestern shore of the Mare Nectaris on Earth's Moon. English amateur astronomer Patrick Moore called this "an excellent example of a bay".^[2] It lies to the northwest of the similarly flooded crater remnant Fracastorius. To the west is the prominent crater Catharina.^[3]

The rim of Beaumont is breached in the east, where the basaltic flow from Mare Nectaris broached the crater and flooded the interior. Now only a worn and crater-impacted outer wall remains. If the crater once possessed a central peak, it is no longer apparent. The floor contains several hills and small craters. To the west of the breach, a narrow 10-km long rille runs southward across the floor.^[4] A low ridge runs northward from the crater rim across the Mare Nectaris.^[2]^[5]^: 96 The infrared spectrum of pure crystalline plagioclase has been identified on the southeast floor.^[6]

The crater is named after French geologist Léonce Élie de Beaumont (1798-1874).^[1] The name was incorporated into lunar nomenclature by German astronomer Johann Mädler in the 19th century.^[7] It was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.^[1]

Satellite craters

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Beaumont.^[8]

Beaumont^[5]^: 293	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
A	16.3° S	27.7° E	14 km
B	18.6° S	26.8° E	16 km
C	20.2° S	28.0° E	6 km
D	17.0° S	26.2° E	11 km
E	18.8° S	27.5° E	18 km
F	18.3° S	26.6° E	10 km
G	20.3° S	27.1° E	8 km
H	17.2° S	28.4° E	6 km
J	19.9° S	26.5° E	5 km
K	17.5° S	30.1° E	6 km
L	14.4° S	30.0° E	4 km
M	19.4° S	28.6° E	10 km
N	16.9° S	27.7° E	5 km
P	19.9° S	29.6° E	17 km
R	17.9° S	30.7° E	4 km

Beaumont D from Apollo 14
The small dark-halo crater Beaumont L, from Apollo 14

Satellite crater Beaumont L on Mare Nectaris is a dark-halo crater, which means that the impact event unearthed cryptomare material that now covers the surrounding surface. The spectrum shows the excavated material is rich in olivine.^[9] Beaumont D is associated with an outcropping of pure anorthosite.^[10]

Rusty colored bands and a brownish hue on the floor of satellite crater Beaumont L were observed by the crew of Apollo 14 while they were in orbit around the moon.^[11]

References

1 2 3 "Beaumont". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
1 2 Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
↑ "LAC 96" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
↑ Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 220. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
↑ Donaldson Hanna, K. L.; et al. (July 2014). "Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 119 (7): 1516–1545. Bibcode:2014JGRE..119.1516D. doi:10.1002/2013JE004476.
↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
↑ Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.
↑ Kaur, Prabhjot; et al. (May 2015). "Study of olivine-rich dark halo crater - Beaumont L in Mare Nectaris using high resolution remote sensing data". Planetary and Space Science. 109: 92–105. Bibcode:2015P&SS..109...92K. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.02.001.
↑ Bussey, D.; et al. (February 2000). "Compositional studies of the Orientale, Humorum, Nectaris, and Crisium lunar basins". Journal of Geophysical Research. 105 (E2): 4235–4244. Bibcode:2000JGR...105.4235B. doi:10.1029/1999JE001130.
↑ Apollo 14 Preliminary Science Report, pages 275-276.

[GPN-1] 1 2 3 "Beaumont". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[Moore_2001-2] 1 2 Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.

[LAC-96-3] "LAC 96" (PDF). Gazeteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Retrieved 2026-06-02.

[Grego_2005-4] Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 220. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.

[Bussey_Spudis_2004-5] 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.

[Donaldson_Hanna_et_al_2014-6] Donaldson Hanna, K. L.; et al. (July 2014). "Global assessment of pure crystalline plagioclase across the Moon and implications for the evolution of the primary crust". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 119 (7): 1516–1545. Bibcode:2014JGRE..119.1516D. doi:10.1002/2013JE004476.

[Whitaker_1999-7] Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.

[Grego_2015-8] Grego, P. (2015). "Satellite Crater". In Hargitai, H.; Kereszturi, Á. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_328.

[Kaur_et_al_2015-9] Kaur, Prabhjot; et al. (May 2015). "Study of olivine-rich dark halo crater - Beaumont L in Mare Nectaris using high resolution remote sensing data". Planetary and Space Science. 109: 92–105. Bibcode:2015P&SS..109...92K. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2015.02.001.

[Bussey_et_al_2000-10] Bussey, D.; et al. (February 2000). "Compositional studies of the Orientale, Humorum, Nectaris, and Crisium lunar basins". Journal of Geophysical Research. 105 (E2): 4235–4244. Bibcode:2000JGR...105.4235B. doi:10.1029/1999JE001130.

[11] Apollo 14 Preliminary Science Report, pages 275-276.

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