Astronomy current events question: multiple star system formation in Barnard 5

Astronomy 210L, spring semester 2015
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!)

Sam Wood, "Astronomers Catch 'Tatooine' Multiple-Star System as it Forms," (February 11, 2015)
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=13858

A multiple-star system forming in gas cloud Barnard 5 was detected using the Very Large Array to map:
(A) radio emission from molecules.
(B) x ray pulses.
(C) gravitational waves.
(D) heat sources.
(E) mass-to-energy ratios.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 30678, 30679, 30680
(A) : 8 students
(B) : 19 students
(C) : 12 students
(D) : 7 students
(E) : 3 students