(JidoBG/Wikimedia)

Films like Armageddon and Deep Impact paint a catastrophic picture of asteroid strikes on Earth, and they can be cataclysmic. Ask the dinosaurs. That's why scientists like Alessandra Springmann of University of Arizona’s Lunar & Planetary Laboratory keep eyes on the skies to monitor near-Earth passages of asteroids and other celestial debris. Springmann is the guest speaker at this month's First Friday Astronomy Event at Boise State's Science and Education Building and she joins Idaho Matters to talk about tracking space rocks from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

Ph.D. candidate Alessondra Springmann presents her lecture, "Rowdy Asteroids and Killer Space Avocados," at the 2014 FameLab USA. (youtube)