Question

Imagine a uniform, static cloud of gas in space

Answer 1

Imagine a uniform static cloud of gas in space. Imagine then that the gas is somehow disturbed so that one small spherical region become a little denser than the gas around it so that the small region's gravitational field becomes slightly stronger.

Answer 2

Answer:

The answer is option 1) Gravitational instability

Explanation:

The topic of the passage is gravitational instability here, and “it” in the line “Newton first perceived it in the late 17th century” represents gravitational instability.

This simple physical concept is responsible for the formation of stars. It is the main mechanism behind the evolution of structures in the universe. When the random motion of gas is low, then a massive disk of gas collapses due to its own gravity, and the unstable region forms dense clumps. This is only because of the gravitational instability mechanism.  

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