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Planets are expected to form in circumstellar disks around young stellar objects - a common by-product of the star-formation process. Consequently, these disks provide the key to evaluate and to refine existing hypotheses for the various phases of the planet formation process. Currently, various instruments/observatories go into operation which will provide the required angular resolution and sensitivity over a broad wavelength range which are ideal for investigating the potential planet- forming region in circumstellar disks. I will discuss the feasibility to study the various stages of the planet formation process observationally - from the growth of submicron-sized dust grains in young, gas-rich circum-stellar disks to the stage of long-term stable planetary systems embedded in debris disks. In this context, a special focus will be on protoplanets which represent the major missing link on the way from dust to planets.

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Sebastian Wolf , University of Kiel
HS III
Contact: not specified