OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW OF YOUNG INTERMEDIATE-MASS OBJECTS - HERBIG AEBE STARS/

Recent discoveries of planets orbiting several nearby solar-mass stars have focussed renewed attention on the frequency and evolution of pla netary systems and their evolutionary precursors around both solar and intermediate (2 less than or equal to M/M-. less than or equal to 8) mass stars. As a result of a wealth of new observations at all wavelen gths of the circumstellar material around the nearest of the young int ermediate-mass stars, the so-called Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) stars, we are beginning to see how these systems are similar to the solar mass obje cts, and how they differ. A review of the recent literature is present ed, including the evolutionary status of the stars, binary frequency a nd the star forming environment, the morphology of the circumstellar m aterial, including the first direct detections of disks in Keplerian r otation around these objects, and mass loss and infall phenomena. Pros pects for advances in this research area as a result of advances in in strumentation are reviewed.