another alternative to building stations.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Lucio de Souza Coelho"
wrote:
>
> Just being picky with your numbers: Venus is six light-minutes from
> the Sun and Mars is 13.
>

i was basing those numbers on the generalization of venus being half
the distance between the earth and sun. and mars as being twice as
far. i guess venus is a lot closer to earth than the sun and mars is
much less than twice earths orbit. earth is 8 light minutes, so venus
orbit is about 2 light minutes away. and mars is 5. still the
generalization of 20 light minutes for the farthest the beam would
have to travel is still on.

this would make it better for the closest approach though. since the
laser would be just inside venus orbit, perhaps at 5.5 lm's from sun
and the neos would be for the most part between the two planets most
of the time.