This volume addresses a new opportunity in the planetary sciences—to extend our exploration outward to discover and study planetary systems that may have formed or are forming around other stars.

It concludes that a coordinated program of astronomical observation, laboratory research, theoretical development, and understanding of the dynamics and origins of whatever may be found would be a technologically feasible and potentially richly rewarding extension of the study of bodies within the solar system.

• Front Matter
• Executive Summary
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Basic Scientific Goals
• 3. Present Understanding of the Origin of Planetary Systems
• 4. Observations of Extrasolar Planetary and Protoplanetary Material
• 5. Observational Requirements for Identification of Extrasolar-System Planets
• 6. Future Investigations of Precursor Planetary Systems
• 7. Relation to Other Astronomical and Astrophysical Studies
• 8. Recommendations
• Appendix A: The Large Star Sample Required for a Photometric Planetary Search
• Appendix B: List of Members, Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Resources