Astronomy current events question: HARPS 50 new exoplanets discovery

Astronomy 210L, fall semester 2011
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!)

Alan Boyle, "Fifty New Alien Worlds Revealed," September 12, 2011
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/12/7728140-fifty-new-alien-worlds-revealed

European Southern Observatory's High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher at the La Silla Observatory in Chile was able to detect 50 new exoplanets, including 16 "super-Earths" by observations of these planets __________ the stars they orbit.
(A) interfering with magnetic fields of.
(B) deflecting solar flares from.
(C) absorbing radio transmissions from.
(D) producing dark matter in.
(E) wobbling the motions of.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186, 70200
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 7 students
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 10 students