---
title: "Take This Class: It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s—the End of Humanity?"
date: 2024-03-08T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/take-this-class-its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-the-end-of-humanity"
section: Articles
---
# Take This Class: It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s—the End of Humanity?

*March 8, 2024* — by [Maggie Haslam](/author/maggie-haslam)


> Students Learn Science and Skills With ‘Deep Impact’ in Asteroid Collision Course

*ASTR220 Collisions In Space 03042024 SC 4767 1920x1080 — Alden Bobofchak '26 and Professor Jessica Sunshine share theories on the altitude of airbursts (the explosion that occurs when an asteroid hits the earth’s atmosphere) as part “Collisions in Space: The Threat of Asteroid Impacts,” an I-Series course for undergraduates.*

At the peak of his Hollywood career, it seemed like nothing could stop Bruce Willis. Formidable foes like Cold War assassins, Hans Gruber, even death itself were no match against the wisecracking Willis, with a notable exception: asteroids. (Spoiler alert: He dies to save humanity.)

But University of Maryland students taking “Collisions in Space: The Threat of Asteroid Impacts” are learning that the chances of losing America’s most beloved action hero to a rock hurdling toward Earth are slim; and if Earth—and Willis—are in the crosshairs of an oncoming “global killer,” we might not even know it's coming, until it’s too late.


*Professor Sunshine — Sunshine, an expert in comets, asteroids and meteorites, has been involved in several planetary missions for NASA, including Lucy, the first mission to explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids.*



**Sidebar note:**

**“Collisions in Space: The Threat of Asteroid Impacts” (ASTR220)**

- Satisfies: General education requirement in Distributive Studies-Natural Sciences and I-Series
- Next time you can take it: Spring 2025
- A fun fact you’ll learn: Scientists has no idea the Chelyabinsk meteor, a space rock 18 meters in diameter that blew up over Russia in 2013, was coming because all eyes were on a different asteroid slated to have a near-miss with the planet on the same day.
- Summary: The course explores the science behind asteroids and what happens when they collide with planets, as well as the nuances behind defending life as we know it.





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Astronomy](https://today.umd.edu/topic/astronomy), [Take This Class](https://today.umd.edu/topic/take-this-class), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)