Transcript: Star formation results in a young star embedded in a disk of gas and dust. In its early stages every young star has a higher luminosity than its eventual main sequence luminosity. The disk of gas and dust is equally important. This infrared emitting material extends hundreds of astronomical units, and protostellar disks form the missing link between the initial collapsing gas cloud and the formation of planets themselves. Starting in the mid-1980s astronomers used infrared and other techniques to discover large numbers of dust disks around young stars. Beta Pictoris is perhaps the most famous example. Detailed infrared studies of these objects are providing us with vital insights as to the way in which planets form.