Bečvář (crater) explained

Coordinates:	-2.9°N 124.5°W
Diameter:	67 km
Depth:	Unknown
Colong:	236
Eponym:	Antonín Bečvář

Bečvář (in Czech pronounced as /ˈbɛtʃvaːr̝̊/) is a lunar impact crater that is located near the equator on the far side of the Moon. It lies to the northeast of the crater Necho, within that feature's ray system. To the north-northeast is the crater Gregory.

This is a worn, eroded crater system with a few tiny craterlets lying across the floor and rim. A double-crater formation occupies the southwestern rim, with Bečvář Q forming the northwestern member of this pair. The crater Bečvář X is attached to the northern rim.

The crater was named after Czechoslovakian astronomer Antonín Bečvář by the IAU in 1970.^[1] The crater was known as Crater 283 prior to naming.^[2]

Bečvář lies at the center of an unnamed, highly subdued, 200-km-diameter crater which was originally discovered during the Apollo 16 mission and reported by Farouk El-Baz. The name Necho was proposed for the crater, but the name was eventually adopted for the small, bright-rayed crater along the south margin of the unnamed crater.^[3]

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 Bečvář.

Bečvář	Latitude	Longitude	Diameter
D	1.5° S	126.5° E	15 km
E	2.0° S	127.8° E	15 km
J	3.6° S	126.6° E	45 km
Q	2.9° S	124.0° E	28 km
S	3.0° S	121.1° E	14 km
T	1.8° S	121.9° E	27 km
X	0.6° S	124.2° E	26 km

References

• Book: Andersson . L. E. . Whitaker . E. A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1982 . NASA Catalogue of Lunar Nomenclature . NASA RP-1097 .
• Book: Bussey . B. . Ben Bussey . Spudis . P. . Paul Spudis . 2004 . The Clementine Atlas of the Moon . . New York . 978-0-521-81528-4 .
• Book: Cocks . Elijah E. . Cocks . Josiah C. . 1995 . Who's Who on the Moon: A Biographical Dictionary of Lunar Nomenclature . Tudor Publishers . 978-0-936389-27-1 .
• Web site: McDowell . Jonathan . July 15, 2007 . Lunar Nomenclature . . 2007-10-24 .
• Menzel. D. H.. Minnaert. M.. Levin. B.. Dollfus. A.. Bell. B.. Report on Lunar Nomenclature by the Working Group of Commission 17 of the IAU. 10.1007/BF00171763. Space Science Reviews. 12. 2. 136–186. 1971. 1971SSRv...12..136M. 122125855.
• Book: Moore , Patrick . Patrick Moore . 2001 . On the Moon . . 978-0-304-35469-6 .
• Book: Price , Fred W. . 1988 . The Moon Observer's Handbook . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-33500-3 .
• Book: Rükl , Antonín . Antonín Rükl . 1990 . Atlas of the Moon . . 978-0-913135-17-4 .
• Book: Webb , Rev. T. W. . Thomas William Webb . 1962 . Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes . 6th revised . Dover . 978-0-486-20917-3 .
• Book: Whitaker , Ewen A. . Ewen Whitaker . 1999 . Mapping and Naming the Moon . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-62248-6 .
• Book: Wlasuk , Peter T. . 2000 . Observing the Moon . Springer . 978-1-85233-193-1 .

External links

• Bečvář at The Moon Wiki

Notes and References

1. http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/727 Bečvář
2. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/mapcatalog/LunarFarsideCharts/LFC-1%201stEd/LFC-1%202ndEd/LFC-1A/ Lunar Farside Chart (LFC-1A)
3. Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report (NASA SP-315), 1972, Chapter 29, Part H: Discovery of Two Lunar Features https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16psr.html