Solar Systems

solar systems
Are all the stars in the sky; suns of different solar systems?

what are stars actually? and why are planets in our solar system, mars , venus, and the rest seem like the same size.

Yes: all the stars we see in the sky are the suns of other solar systems. Stars are huge balls of plasma which shine by internal thermonuclear fusion reactions. Planets are small cool bodies which shine only be reflected light from their suns. Our solar system has one Sun and eight planets, including Earth. We now know of many other stars (suns) with planetary systems, such as these:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100703.html

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100704.html

I don't understand what you're asking about the planets in our solar system. Though they all appear to be the same size as stars with the naked eye, even the simplest telescope shows them to be different sizes. Most people don't realize how far away the planets and stars are. The invention of the telescope 400 years ago taught us the differences.

Solar Power Videos

Birth of the Solar System

Solar Industry Projections

What are the solar industry projections for the great solar boom in the climate-energy era? As the country begins climbing out of recession, it is going to require increasing public acceptance of solar energy to get the economic engine fired up.

Solar industry projections provide that the uneven supply and demand ratio characteristic of 2009 will be balanced out this year due to strong demand in the Asian and U.S. markets.  These markets will help increase the global solar usage to 9.3 GW in 2010.  This would translate into a market value of U.S. $39 billion.

Decreasing prices in solar equipment and materials should open up new markets allowing for the industry to reach a United States $77 billion value with 26.4 GW of capacity in 2015.

A huge role in the growth of the solar market will be the demand for solar technology in China.  Currently, China is the largest single manufacturer of solar products in the world but not a huge buyer of them.  China will have to deploy solar technology as they have a significant impact on global warming and the energy crisis.  According to most solar industry projections, China will be the largest solar market in the world in 2015.

Supply and demand will only be restored to its equilibrium once the market experiences some company failures and lowered utility rates.

Ted Sullivan, senior analyst at Lux Research and author of the new report "Solar's Shakeout: Europe Loses Leadership as China Rises", cites that solar installations will rise at an annual rate of 23% between 2010 and 2015.  Yet, revenue will only grow annually by 14% due to falling solar equipment prices.

With the projection of 26.5 GW of
solar deployed
in the United States in 5 years (currently just over 1 GW), there is plenty of room for expansion in the solar industry. As energy prices rise in the future, demand for solar will increase dramatically, creating jobs increasing revenue of strong solar companies.