"The Formation of Planetary Systems: A View from Spitzer"

For eons, people have wondered whether our Solar System is unique in the galaxy. The technological advance of the Spitzer Space Telescope allows us to look anew at this question. Spitzer is particularly sensitive to measuring dust around other stars. This dust is analogous to dust that is known to exist in our Solar System, produced through collisions among small bodies (asteroids and Kuiper Belt Objects). We have used Spitzer to measure the frequency of planetary system formation among nearby stars. I will present our latest results, including the apparent dependences of planetary system formation and evolution on stellar age, spectral type, and multiplicity. Overall, our Solar System appears more common than uncommon.