Astronomy current events question: runaway star bow shocks

Astronomy 210L, spring semester 2016
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!)

Whitney Clavin, "Runaway Stars Leave Infrared Waves in Space" (January 5, 2016)
jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4812

Massive, runaway stars can be identified from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer images of:
(A) type Ia supernovae.
(B) Doppler shifts.
(C) dark matter filaments.
(D) x-ray fluctuations.
(E) bow shocks.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30678, 30679, 30680
(A) : 5 students
(B) : 6 students
(C) : 2 students
(D) : 6 students
(E) : 28 students