# Could they have dropped a nuclear bomb on the moon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083 "2009-08-02T19:21:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/41 "2009-08-03T06:14:44Z")
Along similar lines to the U-boat steel, some physics experiments (especially neutrino detectors, which are necessarily extremely sensitive) are shielded with lead salvaged from the ballast of sunken Spanish galleons. The problem with normal lead is that cosmic rays can transmute the occasional atom to something radioactive, but the water has shielded the galleon salvage for long enough that most of those transmuted atoms have decayed back to lead. > [@](#): > > Would a nuclear blast on the Moon’s surface still form a mushroom cloud, or is that only in Earth’s atmosphere? Would it be more spherical? Without an atmosphere, each individual bit of debris will follow its own parabolic arc (well, technically an arc of an ellipse, but it’d be pretty close to a parabola), independent of the rest of the debris. Without an ambient atmosphere, you won’t get any sort of turbulence effects, and therefore won’t be able to form the cap of the mushroom cloud. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/42 "2009-08-03T06:35:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Along similar lines to the U-boat steel, some physics experiments (especially neutrino detectors, which are necessarily extremely sensitive) are shielded with lead salvaged from the ballast of sunken Spanish galleons. The problem with normal lead is that cosmic rays can transmute the occasional atom to something radioactive, but the water has shielded the galleon salvage for long enough that most of those transmuted atoms have decayed back to lead. Interesting, we used pretty old lead blocks for primary shielding/collimation of the detectors, but to combat the lead X-rays (cosmic rays interactions with lead) we would put sheets of cadmium inside the lead wall on the detector side. The Cd was an excellent absorber of the 60 keV x rays, which are very close to some of the isotopes one was looking for as well. I thought the lead xrays we an ongoing interaction with the cosmic ray/muons, rather than an activation product, although it could be both, and my memory could be very faulty. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/43 "2009-08-03T16:13:40Z")
Let’s blow up the moon, we have the [technology](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csj7vMKy4EI). ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/44 "2009-08-03T16:49:40Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > A 10 inch telescope is sufficient to videotape a meteor hitting the moon with the energy equivalent of 4 tons of TNT: [here](http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/13jun_lunarsporadic.htm). With a brightness of magnitude 7, the event wasn’t much below visibility with the mark I eyeball. > A nuke, with energy release in the hundreds of kilotons range would likely be naked eye visible if it occured on the uniluminated limb of the moon. Yes but still a pin point for a second or so, right? Hardly the horror of the mushroom cloud or anything else that would fuel the nightmares of a generation. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/45 "2009-08-03T16:56:28Z")
Do it during the New Moon so the whole surface (or at least a sizable chunk of it) becomes visible for a split-second. _That’ll_ scare the heathens! ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/46 "2009-08-03T16:59:53Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Extremely simplistic answer. You vaporize a bunch of lunar stuff. You analyze the spectrum of light of all this glowing stuff. See signs of complex organics? Might be signs of life… Woo hoo!! We’ve proven there … used to be … life on the moon!! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/47 "2009-08-03T17:06:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought the lead xrays we an ongoing interaction with the cosmic ray/muons, rather than an activation product, although it could be both, and my memory could be very faulty. Muons are pretty penetrating, but neutrino detectors are deep enough underground that they’re a non-issue. Even if natural earth isn’t the best shielding, a few miles of it will still work well enough. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/48 "2009-08-03T17:26:57Z")
From the link: This is interesting: > [@](#): > > Reiffel would not reveal how the explosion would have taken place. But he confirmed it was ‘certainly technically feasible’ and that at the time an intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile would have been capable of hitting a target on the moon with an accuracy of within two miles. A 1950’s era ICBM was capable of hitting the moon? Is that true? When we say that no modern rockets can “reach the moon”, is there an implicit assumption that we’re talking about an 11-ton payload? If we were talking about a warhead-sized payload (say 100kg), does that bring nuking the moon into the realm of feasibility for modern commercial or military rockets? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/49 "2009-08-03T17:34:54Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Just hanging up there, waving its ass at us… It needs to be taught a lesson. Oooh, I hate the moon… so… much! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/50 "2009-08-04T01:05:17Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > Why would they want to drop a nuke on the Moon? To obtain [this](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chairface-moon.jpg) effect, perhaps. Sometimes you have to dream big. > [@SenorBeef](#): > > Since the dawn of time man has yearned to destroy the moon. That line only works if you have James Earl Jones overdubbing it. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/51 "2009-08-04T06:51:59Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [QUOTE=SenorBeef] > Since the dawn of time man has yearned to destroy the moon. That line only works if you have James Earl Jones overdubbing it. Stranger [/QUOTE] Or [Harry Shearer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Shearer#The_Simpsons). ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/52 "2009-08-04T07:56:49Z")
It’s not the nukes I’m worried about, it’s that off-worlder who’s been funding all the mining operations when he knows damn well the place is played out. I’ve been suspicious of him ever since I told him I didn’t want his great Darsh face hanging over my garden wall. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/53 "2009-08-04T20:53:11Z")
I remember a pre-Apollo sf short story I read long ago. The first manned mission is interpreted by a long-dead alien race’s AI defense systems on the Moon as an attack, triggering a retaliatory response. The astronauts watch in horror as a wave of missiles passes them, heading back towards Earth… ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/54 "2011-03-24T03:31:59Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > To obtain [this](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chairface-moon.jpg) effect, perhaps. Sometimes you have to dream big. > > That line only works if you have James Earl Jones overdubbing it. > > Stranger God! If only… lousy moon! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/55 "2011-03-24T03:44:13Z")
Stupid moon, it’s full of zombies! ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/56 "2011-03-24T22:17:47Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Stupid moon, it’s full of zombies! That’s not a moon, it’s a space station. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/57 "2011-03-25T00:21:11Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > During the Cold War, the Pentagon really, really wanted to do this as a stunt. The US was fully capable of doing this, but since a) it serves absolutely no military purpose and b) it would forever contaminate the Moon, scientists were able to persuade the administration not to proceed. Is there a site for this? Seems like more of an effort to portray DoD as a bunch of bloodthirsty guys foaming at the mouth to blow up the moon. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Slinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Green\_Slinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Slinky)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/58 "2011-03-25T02:32:40Z")
In the event that we did blow up the moon - what would be the consequences to our planet (ignoring the possible destruction of the earth from newly formed meteorites)? We’d no longer have a moon that would give us tides - does that mean the ocean levels would stay the same at any given time, and / or would there be other effects? This assumes there would not be any major detrius still orbiting. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/59 "2011-03-25T05:55:49Z")
> [@Green\_Slinky](#): > > In the event that we did blow up the moon - what would be the consequences to our planet (ignoring the possible destruction of the earth from newly formed meteorites)? [THREAD=382719]If the moon disappeared, how would life on earth be affected?[/THREAD] Stranger ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083/60 "2011-03-25T13:54:57Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > Is there a site for this? Seems like more of an effort to portray DoD as a bunch of bloodthirsty guys foaming at the mouth to blow up the moon. There are tons of cites. Do a Google search. Here is one: [http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread4232/pg1](http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread4232/pg1) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-they-have-dropped-a-nuclear-bomb-on-the-moon/505083.md?page=4)