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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2010
Circumstellar disks are an intrinsic part of star formation and are also where planets form, migrate, and where the materials capable of producing life-bearing worlds are produced. The most flamboyant signatures of the presence of disks are at infrared through millimeter wavelengths, where thermal emission from dust dominates the system light. The discovery and characterization of the emission from such disks has been a major activity for ground-based observatories and space missions (IRAS, ISO, MSX, AKARI, and Spitzer), and continues with the newest generation of infrared (IR) capabilities.