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What discoveries did the Infrared Astronomical Satellite make about debris around stars?

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Telescope Aerial view of the Keck Observatory's twin domes, which are opened to reveal the telescopes. Keck II is on the left and Keck I on the right.

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) made significant contributions to our understanding of stellar environments by revealing that some young stars are surrounded by disks of minute solid dust particles.1

Specifically, IRAS identified clouds of solid debris around stars such as Vega and Fomalhaut, as well as several other stars. These findings were highly significant because the presence of such debris disks strongly suggests that these stars are in the process of forming planetary systems similar to our own solar system.21