160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949 
away has been explored by several German astronomers. However, 
the turbulent velocities involved would exceed the velocity of sound 
in the interstellar gas, and physical information about this type of 
turbulence is virtually nonexistent. In this country the possibility 
has been advanced that a galactic magnetic field might produce 
electrical eddy currents in a rotating protostar, which would then 
damp out the angular momentum. 
An interesting variant of this star-building picture has been pro- 
posed by Dr. Fred Whipple, one of the astronomers who has con- 
tributed most to this theory of star building. He suggests that a 
condensing cloud may have produced our solar system. In view of 
the widespread general interest in the formation of the solar system, 
such a bold extrapolation of these theoretical concepts back to con- 
ditions several billion years ago is naturally of much significance. 
It is evident that the picture of star formation which has been 
described here is still in a formative stage. The work in progress is 
being carried out cooperatively by a number of astronomers all over 
the world. Perhaps when the 200-inch telescope probes further into 
the secrets of space, and when further progress in experimental and 
theoretical physics increases our understanding of the processes at 
work between the stars, we may then outline with more assurance the 
detailed steps by which supergiant stars may be forming almost 
before our very eyes. 
