Fellow SLASers, The planetary society directors thinks that the United States should do manned missions to Mars and not do manned missions to the moon I disagree. Here's why. 1. Going to the moon is cheaper. 2. A permanent base can be built on the moon. On Mars this is questionable. 3.The earth can be viewed from the moon easier than from Mars. These observations may be very valuable. 4.The moon has less gravity and thus it is easier to escape the moon's gravity. 5. Less time in space is required Thus space travelers would be safer. 6. Because the moon is closer its resources can be exploited easier than those of Mars. 7 Because the moon has no atmosphere it makes a good astronomy platform. Sincerely, Gary Vardon -----Original Message----- From: Jay Eads Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 5:25 PM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Wednesday the 10th Near Full Moon will Cross in Front of the Pleiades So if you are able to grab a few minutes on the evening of the 10th, we can see the near full moon cross over the Pleiades. Should make for some very bright viewing best in a small telescope or binocs I would imagine. Anyway just thought I would mention it. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com