# If I pointed a laser pointer at the moon... (Hypothetical)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-pointed-a-laser-pointer-at-the-moon-hypothetical/943037>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 27, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-pointed-a-laser-pointer-at-the-moon-hypothetical/943037 "2021-05-27T14:06:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**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:** [May 27, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-pointed-a-laser-pointer-at-the-moon-hypothetical/943037/11 "2021-05-27T19:03:01Z")

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I asked a similar (but, more reasonable) question awhile ago:

> [@Could someone on the ISS see a laser beam from Earth?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-someone-on-the-iss-see-a-laser-beam-from-earth/597156):
>
> Say I took my 5mW green laser and aimed it at the ISS, 200 miles away - if my aim was perfect, at night, could the light be seen by someone looking directly at the beam? Some online calculations show the beam would have spread to 200-400 meters across after 200 miles.

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