Beer (lunar crater)

Beer
Apollo 15 Mapping Camera image with Feuillée at left and Beer at right
Coordinates27°06′N 9°06′W / 27.1°N 9.1°W / 27.1; -9.1
Diameter9.06 km (5.63 mi)[1]
Depth1.67 km (1.04 mi)[2]
Colongitude9° at sunrise
EponymWilhelm W. Beer
Oblique view from Apollo 15 Panoramic Camera
Lunar dome south of Beer crater

Beer is a relatively small lunar impact crater located on the Mare Imbrium, to the east of the crater Timocharis. Just to the northwest is the matching twin Feuillée.[3][4]

Beer is a circular, cup-shaped crater with a sharp-edged rim that has not been significantly eroded. The interior has a higher albedo than the surrounding lunar mare, which is usually an indication of a relatively young crater. A string of craters arc away from the rim to the southeast, which then grade into a straight rille,[5]: 41  and were once known as Fossa Archimedes or Archimedes Rille, but now are officially unnamed.[6][7]

The mare to the east has a higher albedo than the surrounding surface, and this lighter-hued surface reaches to the base of the Montes Archimedes. To the southeast of Beer is a lunar dome[4] that is of comparable diameter to the crater.

This crater was named after German astronomer Wilhelm W. Beer. Its designation was formally adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1935.[8] The name was incorporated into lunar nomenclature by William R. Birt and John Lee during the 19th century.[9]

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 Beer.[10]

Beer[5]: 293  Latitude Longitude Diameter
A 27.2° N 8.6° W 4 km
B 25.7° N 9.0° W 2 km
E 27.8° N 7.8° W 3 km

References

  1. ↑ "Beer". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  2. ↑ Pike, R. J. (September 1976). "Crater Dimensions from Apollo Data and Supplemental Sources". The Moon. 15 (3–4): 463–477. Bibcode:1976Moon...15..463P. doi:10.1007/BF00562253.
  3. ↑ Moore, Patrick (2001). On the Moon. Sterling Publishing Co. pp. 180–181. ISBN 978-0-304-35469-6.
  4. 1 2 Grego, Peter (2005). The Moon and How to Observe It. Astronomers' Observing Guides Series. London: Springer-Verlag. p. 150. ISBN 1-85233-748-6.
  5. 1 2 Bussey, B.; Spudis, P. (2004). The Clementine Atlas of the Moon. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81528-4.
  6. ↑ "LTO41A4". NASA Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap. May 1974. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  7. ↑ Pau, K. C. (July 2023). "Two New Rilles are Found Near Crater Beer" (PDF). The Lunar Observer. Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers: 16. Retrieved 2026-06-02.
  8. ↑ "Beer (lunar crater)". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  9. ↑ Whitaker, Ewen A. (1999). Mapping and Naming the Moon. Cambridge University Press. pp. 136, 221. ISBN 978-0-521-62248-6.
  10. ↑ 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.
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