An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A disk developing around a star after the dissipation of the → protoplanetary disk of gas and dust whose material was used in the formation of planets during the first 10 million years. The resulting debris disk is mainly composed of residual → planetesimals
analogous to → asteroids, → comets, and → Kuiper Belt Objects in the Solar System. Their mutual collisions produce observable → dust emission in a belt encompassing the planetary system.

See also: → debris; → disk.