ILLUSTRATION: NATALIA JAGIELSKA Few phenomena in Earth’s history have been as widely popularized as the mass extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. Yet, the disappearance of such awe-inspiring animals has roused more than public fascination—it has spurred enduring scientific debate. Paleontologists largely agree that an asteroid dealt the final blow to non-avian dinosaurs, but their susceptibility to annihilation when the asteroid plummeted to Earth remains an open question.