# Could a "sniper rifle" be shot from the moon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346 "2015-11-01T17:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/61 "2015-11-06T15:20:11Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > So, no silencers required, then? > > In space, no one can hear your deer scream. I don’t know what all of this talk about shooting a space deer is all about. All you have to do is nuke it from orbit, its the only way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/62 "2015-11-06T15:25:37Z")
> [@tonyfop](#): > > I don’t know what all of this talk about shooting a space deer is all about. All you have to do is nuke it from orbit, its the only way to be sure. And, see, I don’t know what all this nuking from orbit stuff is all about…if you are in orbit, all you REALLY need to do is drop a big rock on whatever it is. The bigger the rock, the surer you’ll be. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![KaleMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@KaleMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KaleMan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/63 "2015-11-06T16:03:09Z")
> [@Artemis\_Tardis](#): > > Would it be possible for an astronaut to shoot a “sniper rifle” (the one usually used to kill targets on a long distance) on the moon? I mean, the weapon would probably work pretty well if there aren’t any parts that need air pressure or gravity to work. But what about the bullet? > > If the astronaut had a very potent scope - something that hypothetically could see a target on our planet - would he be able to actually shoot and hit this target? > > Inspired by [this](http://i0.wp.com/memecollection.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/353463.jpg) comic. NO. Is not possible when your bullet come into high density atmosphere it will be evaporated in few seconds … because of extreme high temperature what means high friction force. Just remember what reach the Earth from 120 tonn international space station??? almost NOTHING!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tonyfop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@tonyfop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonyfop)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/64 "2015-11-06T16:54:12Z")
> [@XT](#): > > And, see, I don’t know what all this nuking from orbit stuff is all about…if you are in orbit, all you REALLY need to do is drop a big rock on whatever it is. The bigger the rock, the surer you’ll be. 😛 Yeah, but there are no quarries on the moon:D ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/65 "2015-11-06T17:40:27Z")
Sometimes I wonder what normal people talk about. Then I realize I don’t really care. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/66 "2015-11-06T17:51:29Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Sometimes I wonder what normal people talk about. Then I realize I don’t really care. > > Regards, > Shodan Who are these normal people of which you speak?? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/67 "2015-11-06T18:49:29Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Who are these normal people of which you speak?? :eek: So how about them sports teams that happen to be based in the city I live in? I feel validated that they beat the other city’s team this week, and drank a case of beer this weekend. How are things in accounting, here in sales we are 2% up from our quota. Mandy the secretary seems to be impressed by my alpha male posturing, maybe I should attempt to have intercourse with her. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/68 "2015-11-06T18:58:47Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Who are these normal people of which you speak?? :eek: You’re asking **me**? I sometimes think I should have picked the blue pill, but I would have missed threads like this. And pan-fried semen, treadmills, poop posts from **lieu** , and “would you shoot your child if he was on fire/Hitler covered in glue” and several others that it would expensive therapy or large amounts of alcohol to get over. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/69 "2015-11-06T19:09:22Z")
You guys need to be careful, moon terrorists might be reading this thread. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/70 "2015-11-06T19:15:11Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You’re asking **me**? > > I sometimes think I should have picked the blue pill, but I would have missed threads like this. And pan-fried semen, **treadmills** , Which one are you referring to? I have a treadmill desk, purchased recently, and it really works. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/71 "2015-11-06T19:29:11Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > You guys need to be careful, moon terrorists might be reading this thread. ☹ Gidney and Cloyd? ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/72 "2015-11-09T14:58:51Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > In Heinlein’s _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_ it took a futuristic quasi-maybe-sentient supercomputer to work out the trajectories to do that. Not quite. The tricky bit was selecting the trajectory to hit an exact spot at an exact time. It was also made simpler by the capsules being only semi-ballistic; they had guidance thrusters. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/73 "2015-11-09T16:41:38Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > The 1964 Ben Bova short story “Men of Good Will” dealt with the aftereffects of a gun battle on the moon between the Russians and the Americans. Most of the bullets missed, and ended up in orbits that have their periluna at the same place they were fired from every 28 days. So on that day, everyone has to take cover lest they get shot again. It takes all the computing power available just to track the bullets in orbit - they can’t shoot any more or the computers will be overwhelmed. > > Whether or not it’s scientifically accurate, it’s a dryly funny story. In high school, I wondered if you could have orbits like this (extremely close to the ground) on the moon, what with the lack of atmosphere, but my friend’s dad, a physicist, said something about low moon orbits being unstable due to gravitational anomalies caused by lunar mascots. I was extremely confused until he started describing varying concentrations of mass at different parts of the moon, and I figured out he had probably said “mascons” as an abbreviation of “mass concentrations”. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/74 "2015-11-09T16:57:35Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > … lunar mascots. I picture them looking like the Phillie Phanatic. Or a dog, for some reason. Maybe looks like Laika in a spacesuit and helmet. In space, no one can hear you bark. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/75 "2015-11-09T18:08:42Z")
Are we agreed that we just shouldn’t give [Moon Hitler](http://www.theguardian.com/media/tvandradioblog/2015/nov/06/john-lewis-christmas-advert-who-is-moon-hitler) a gun for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/76 "2015-11-09T18:40:10Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Which one are you referring to? I have a treadmill desk, purchased recently, and it really works. Don’t open that can of worms. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/77 "2015-11-10T18:09:30Z")
Oddly enough I stumbled across this subject on another site this morning: [US Army had plans for Space Soldiers Guns/](http://warisboring.com/articles/the-u-s-army-had-plans-for-gun-toting-space-soldiers) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/78 "2015-11-11T00:30:57Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I don’t know that I’d call it a “good idea” but it is certainly plausible. Denial of orbital space by deliberately spawning debris is shockingly easy given basic orbital launch capability. > > Stranger One would think the various military staffs of space-capable countries are actively investigating this. Just like us! ETA: great cite above from **Lumpy**. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2015, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/79 "2015-11-11T16:25:01Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > This leads to some interesting **gun and bullet design possibilities.** > > First off, you go smooth bore. Without an atmosphere, there is nothing to cause the bullet to be unstable, or to drift. Spinning the bullet costs energy that is better put into more velocity. Highlighted for emphasis. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > While it’s true (I think) a smooth bore shot will be faster, you cant assume accuracy. It’s unlikely the bullet will fire absolutely straight and parallel to the barrel, so it will randomly carom off the barrel walls and be travelling somewhat off course as it leaves the barrel. [Say hello to my little friend.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinmetall_120_mm_gun) I doubt **Kevbo** was talking about Daniel-Boone-On-The-Moon, loadin’ up ol’ Bess with a powder horn. Since he’s talking about some R&D just for this insane project, I’d just a soon take the R&D budget, fly the research staff first-class down to Cabo for a week or two of fun in the sun, and then come back and tell my Evil Overlord employer that it’d be cheaper and easier to just go to Wal-Mart, get a halfway decent bolt-action hunting rifle for about $500, and then _go_ to the city he wants to shoot. And then shoot it. And the minute he looks like he’s actually thinking about doing _that_, I pull out Mr. .45ACP, shoot him in the head, and go through his pockets for loose AMEX Diamond credit cards and the keys to his Gulfstream. I can live in Mexico as Roberto Sanchez quite nicely. psst…I’m actually going to be hiding in Chile, but don’t tell my former employer’s vengeful minions. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346/80 "2015-11-12T10:05:04Z")
Ok, how about someone on a geostationary orbit above the earth, say 120 miles above. Could the rifle hit a target proximal to its plumb line to the earth? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-a-sniper-rifle-be-shot-from-the-moon/736346.md?page=5)