20130326

Astronomy current events question: nearby star system WISE J104915.57-531906 brown dwarfs

Astronomy 210L, spring semester 2013
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!)
Barbara K. Kennedy, "'The Closest Star System Found in a Century," March 11, 2013
http://science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2013-news/Luhman3-2013
The brown dwarfs in the newly-discovered nearby WISE J104915.57-531906 system are:
(A) carbon-rich stars.
(B) warm black holes.
(C) white dwarf remnants.
(D) too small to start fusion.
(E) absorb more light than they emit.

Correct answer: (D)

Student responses
Sections 30678, 30679, 30680
(A) : 6 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 34 students
(E) : 9 students

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