Beals is a

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

that is located near the eastern limb of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, and lies across the southwestern rim of the crater

Riemann Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (; ; 17September 182620July 1866) was a German mathematician who made profound contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the first ...

. From the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

the crater is viewed nearly from on edge, and is best seen during favorable

libration In lunar astronomy, libration is the cyclic variation in the apparent position of the Moon that is perceived by observers on the Earth and caused by changes between the orbital and rotational planes of the moon. It causes an observer to see ...

s. To the west is the large walled plain

Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; ; ; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician, astronomer, Geodesy, geodesist, and physicist, who contributed to many fields in mathematics and science. He was director of the Göttingen Observat ...

. This crater formation is only lightly worn, with no significant impacts within its perimeter. The inner wall is narrower along the north-northeast face where the crater intrudes into Riemann, and the rim is somewhat irregular at the southern end. The interior floor is fractured, and has a few low ridges located near the midpoint. Beals was formerly designated Riemann A, a satellite crater of Riemann, until the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

renamed it in 1982 to commemorate Carlyle S. Beals, a Canadian astronomer. Prior to the crater being designated Riemann A, this crater was known as ''Crater 110''.Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
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References

* * * * * * * * * * * * Impact craters on the Moon {{Craters on the Moon: A–B