The Planets of Dawn

Planetary systems are assembled around young stars within the so-called “protoplanetary” disks, which are the byproduct of the formation of the star itself. Over the last decade, observations of protoplanetary disks in nearby star forming regions have allowed us to significantly progress our understanding of the evolution of solids and gas in these systems, and even the direct and indirect detection of young planets. We are finally at the stage in which the detailed properties of our own Solar System, and what we can infer of its formation, can be put in the context of star and planet formation in nearby star forming regions.

In this talk I will review the major observational findings on the properties of protoplanetary disks and their evolution, and put them in the context of the formation of our own Solar System and the diversity of exoplanetary systems.  I will highlight some of the major open questions that we plan to address in the coming years.