Astronomy current events question: Gliese 581g non-existent?

Astronomy 210L, Fall Semester 2010
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Rachel Courtland, "First Life-Friendly Exoplanet May Not Exist," October 13, 2010
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19586-first-lifefriendly-exoplanet-may-not-exist.html

The evidence for the recent discovery of "potentially habitable" planet Gleise 581g has been called into question by another research group because of:
(A) analysis of slightly different data sets.
(B) accusations of academic misconduct.
(C) glitches in computer programs used.
(D) the extremely short lifetime of the star Gliese 581.
(E) periodic solar flares from the star Gliese 581.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186, 70200
(A) : 48 students
(B) : 2 students
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 5 students