Program: GN-2006B-C-10

Exo-Zodiacal disks, i.e. disks encircling Sun-like stars at radii of a few AU, have rarely been found. We propose MICHELLE observations to search the terrestrial planet region of nearby stars for signs of planet formation. We accurately estimate the photospheric brightnesses of nearby stars and reveal those with mid-infrared excesses previously unnoticed in the Faint Source Catalog of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite. MICHELLE observations of these objects will tell us about the masses, collision rates, and compositions of Exo-Zodiacal systems, all are related to the history of terrestrial planet formation. Our search already discovered one fascinating example, HIP 8920, where we may be observing the aftermath of a collision akin to the Moon-forming event for Earth. We propose to make sensitive mid-infrared observations with MICHELLE of ~30 additional candidate disks.