If you have some time to kill, but want to spend it doing something truly worthwhile, spacetelescope.org has just the thing for you. This website helps you learn about the process of piecing together images of deep space in an attempt to create a composite, colored image like this one that I made earlier:

The final, composite image of Messier 17

If you are at all interested in checking this out for yourself, here are the links that you will need:

http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/datasets/

http://www.spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/stepbystep/

The first link will take you to a page with quite a few download links. Pick one of those, download the pictures that it presents to you, and then go to the second link that I provided and follow the step-by-step instructions. One little disclaimer – in order to do this, you will need to download Photoshop if you do not already have it. However there is no need to worry, if you go to Adobe’s website you can download Photoshop for free and use its free trial for up to 30 days. You could probably complete this project in under an hour, so I would highly recommend giving it a shot.

If you do not have the time or the desire to complete the project, that is perfectly understandable. Either way, here is a little summary of what astronomers must do in order to create a detailed, accurate, and colorful photo of the reaches of the cosmos. First, when NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope snaps a picture of a distant star millions of light years away, it is not taking the same type of picture that your average iPhone camera takes. Instead of using film or digital storage to collect the light that comes to it, it uses charge-coupled devices, most of which are sensitive to infrared light, not visible light. So, when the initial images are developed, they are simple, colorless photos, like these:

The blue layer

The green layer

The red layer

These photos are images of Messier 17, a nebula that sits about 5,000 light years away from Earth. To turn these boring images into one vibrant photo, like the one shown at the beginning of this blogpost, you have to layer the photos, the first layer with the lowest wavelength (so, the bluer one) and the last layer with the highest wavelength (the redder one). After doing this and messing with the coloring a bit through the hue/saturation, curves, and levels options, the result is a beautiful representation of a distant land that we know very little about. If you have not pieced it together just yet, the mundane, colorless photos above were combined to create the lively, colorful picture at the top of this blogpost. So, that’s a little “behind the scenes,” if you will, to how people create incredible images of outer space.

Messier 17, also known as the Omega Nebula, is a very interesting location in and of itself. It is a part of the Sagittarius constellation, and has a mass that equals about 800 solar masses. Its size is not just for show – it is known as one of the most luminous and star-producing regions in the entire Milky Way. It does not only stand out in this category; M17 is also one of the youngest known clusters with an age of just 1,000,000 years. Probably the coolest thing about this nebula is how many aliases it has. Some of these include the Swan Nebula, the Checkmark Nebula, the Lobster Nebula and the Horseshoe Nebula. The Nebula has so many names because of how varied it is. There is no single defining characteristic for the region, and instead many different parts of it resemble something we are familiar with (like a swan or a horseshoe).

Today in class, our professor told us that the colorful images we see of the universe are all fake. Even though the structures and clouds are all actual photographs, the colors are all artificially inputed to make the images more surreal and pleasing to the eye. We learned how to do exactly that today. After downloading the image datasets from spacetelescope.org, we used the FITS Liberator application to render the images before importing them into photoshop. Within photoshop, we applied filters to the three separate images, changing them into red, blue and green. Then, we layered them on top of each other, tweaked the color scales a little bit and out came this following masterpiece.

Honestly, this picture may look impressive but anyone with a computer could do it in 30 mins. Anyways, the picture I picked is of the Nebular Cloud – Messier 17. I picked it because it seemed relevant since we just learned about the Nebular Theory and how galaxies form from nebular clouds. Over time, the particles in these clouds collide with each other and some of them, ones that spin in a specific direction, will form spiral galaxies, the ones without a uniform spin will end up as elliptical galaxies. I think the nebular cloud in this picture is still in the early stages of its development so its impossible to tell whether the Messier 17 will end up as a spiral galaxy, or an elliptical galaxy.

This is a summary and personal comment about an article I read on astrobiology.com, titled Cyborg Astrobiologist Uses Phone-Cam to Search for Life by Europlanet. You can access it via this link: http://astrobiology.com/2013/09/cyborg-astrobiologist-uses-phone-cam-to-search-for-life.html

We use mobile phones everyday. We complain about mobile phones everyday groaning that  “They are too slow” and “They get spotty service” and “They won’t connect to the internet fast enough”. These are just a few of the many retorts we direct at our mobile phones daily. I do complain about such trivial inconveniences and agree that there is room for improvement in the mobile phone market. But Patrick McGuire and his Freie Universitaet, Berlin based team are not complaining about mobile phone technology. In collaboration with West Virginia University, the Centro de Astrobiologia de Madrid and the University of Malta, they created a “hybrid human robotic” imaging system out of a basic mobile phone camera. They call it the Cyborg Astrobiologist.

A cell phone camera removed from the device.

The “novelty detection system” used by the Cyborg Astrobiologist.

McGuire and his collaborators did not use the chip from a glamorous smartphone, like the iphone5 or a Samsung Galaxy 3. According the article, the Cyborg Astrobiologist works like this. They use the camera and its imaging chip from a basic mobile phone. Initially, a human takes pictures with the camera that they then compile as a database on a computer. The images are processed and scanned for “novelty colors”. Basically, colors and textures from the original photos are assigned specific “novelty colors” for the robot to reference. Under the control of automated control, the camera can take pictures of its surroundings and by comparing the real pictures to ones from the data base it will determine which areas of its immediate surroundings might be habitable.

The technology is not perfect, but “In [the] most recent tests at a former coal mine in West Virginia, the similarity-matching by the computer agreed with the judgment of [the] human geologists 91% of the time.” This technology could expedite space based research communication between technology in space and Earth because it will allow us to give more autonomy to robots we send into space.

An improvement like this is to be expected from the multibillion dollar space industry. It seems like simply another logical advancement in space technology. It is, but it is truly amazing that the technology this system is based on comes from a mobile phone. The “cell phone” camera is something we use incredibly frequently, yet we overlook its mighty potential. In general, drastically underestimate the potential of everyday technology to perform complex tasks. Instead of thinking about how we can optimize technology that already exists, we want it to do more. McGuire and his team did not invent a new method of image analysis, nor did they discover a new way of space based communication, alternatively they analyzed current technology and applied it in a spectacular new way. In doing so they optimized what they had instead of building  an entirely new system.

We should try to optimize current technology in inventive and new ways. Unfortunately, a common thought is that “we just don’t have the technology or resources to do ‘that’ yet”. Such a stagnant mindset does not lead to scientific innovation. Yes, we must dream about the great new technologies of the future and continue to invent new things. But, we seriously need to examine the technology we have now and realize its immense potential.

Today, we have access to a virtually infinite stream of information because of the internet. Most people have access to some sort of computing device, whether it be a mobile phone, a laptop, a desktop or a calculator. I implore you to use what you have to understand and solve our modern problems.

Right now, society is saturated with a lethargic mindset: a do-it-for-me thought process. The technology that exists today can provide the solutions to our most pressing issues, like the mobile camera innovated the imaging analysis and the search for life in space. Through careful thought and a reassessment of our collective mindset we can optimize what resources we have to create innovative solutions for our problems.

We should look for innovation from what is immediately surrounding us . This includes electronics and, more importantly, nature. Natural systems optimize resources to their full potential, they reuse all energy and, in doing so, they create abundance. Abundance that allows and has allowed plants and animals to thrive for thousands of years. Clearly, these systems work. They have stood the test of time. We can learn from nature to optimize what technology already exists, as McGuire and his team did with the cell phone camera, while we continue to create new technologies. Evolution has done this since the beginning of life with immense success. We should use nature as a model for optimizing technology we already have.

Here is an video of a perfect example of optimization of one’s resources and the amazing results that followed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpYrJs0rX84

Sources

http://astrobiology.com/2013/09/cyborg-astrobiologist-uses-phone-cam-to-search-for-life.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/13010094933

“It is not from space that I must seek my dignity, but from the government of my thought. I shall have no more if I possess worlds. By space the universe encompasses and swallows me up like an atom; by thought I comprehend the world.” -Blaise Pascal, Penseés

Gareth Hardwick

Blog 3

For my science fiction video I watched Star Trek.  The film starts with captain Kirk’s birth and the death of his father at the hands of Nero, the main antagonist of the film.  It then cuts to Kirk’s mischievous childhood, and eventually to him at Starfleet.  During this opening sequence we also see Spock as a child, and his anger over the abuse he receives regarding his human mother.  Once at Starfleet the tension begin Spock and Kirk begins almost immediately when Kirk cheats to pass a test that Spock designed to be impossible.  Also during the scenes at Starfleet we meet most of the crew.  The tension is carried over to the Enterprise, when Spock is made captain and Kirk second in command.  Eventually we see the reason for Nero’s appearance and also why Spock is so integral to the plot, and Nero’s eventual plan of revenge.

This movie is not particularly accurate in terms of science, beaming people to and from spaceships as well as traveling faster than the speed of light is, as far as science has seen so far, impossible.  The one interesting thing to me, was the concept of traveling back in time via going through a black hole.  This is at least hypothetically possible, though this idea it is not at all universally accepted.  Most of the science fiction elements were based on actually hypothesis, but most have been stretched to fit the Star Trek universe.  Examples of things hypothetically possible and science that has been stretched to fit are the artificial gravity and the semi sentient ship computer.  One part of science that does seem to be more accurate than the rest is the matter-anti matter engines used.  By mixing matter and anti matter you will get, hypothetically create the most efficient ship engine possible.  A great article that I used is this one at NASA.

I think that most of this film shows the nostalgia that people feel for the original Star Trek TV show.  Other parts of society that this film reflects are a love for freedom, seen especially in the opening sequence when Kirk steals a car at an early age, and for exploration, which is a major theme throughout the story.

What I really liked about the movie was seeing the whole cast of characters from Star Trek in a different light.  I was never much of a Star Trek fan, but it has permeated our culture so much that I could not help but recognize some of the characters.   

Credit: xkcd -Sphere

Ellie listening to radio waves.

On assignment, I watched the movie Contact (1997), directed Robert Zameckis. It is centered around the search for  and “contact” with extraterrestrial life. It could be considered an ‘alien’ movie if it was to be categorized in a specific genre. The protagonist is a women named Ellie, who has made it her life’s mission to discover signals and contact extraterrestrial life. After the director gives us a splash of all the most important moments of Ellie’s childhood: her love of radios, her father’s death etc., he flashes forward and we find Ellie as a struggling astronomer working for the underfunded program SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Life).SETI shuts down and Ellie, and her fellow SETI scientists, must seek private funding to continue their research. She finds a donor in Hadden Industries, and gets a lease to work on The Very Large Array. The stereotypical portrait of a struggling artist, is constantly emphasized and reemphasized. Nobody understands Ellie, or her passion especially not even a confident, handsome, religious writer named Palmer (Matthew McConaughey). But in true Hollywood form, opposites attract and Palmer and Ellie become close.

The director, Robert Zameckis, shows us the important experiences from her childhood: her love of radios, her wonder of the universeand her blaming herself for both of her parents deaths. Following the stereotypical Hollywood depiction of a troubled genius, they make it blatantly clear how the main character’s internal conflicts arise.

The transportation machine designed by the extraterrestrial life and built by the world.

Ellie discovers a coded instruction manual for a transportation machine from the star Vega.  The challenge seems hopeless, but of course an old wise guru, Mr. Hadden, discovers the answer: still standard Hollywood stuff. Eventually the world comes together to build the machine but a radical religious terrorist sabotages the machine. But, holding true to the a standard Hollywood story arc, there exists a second machine. All is well, Ellie gets to go visit vega, except for her odyssey is not finished yet. After Ellie visits Vega, she wakes up in the safety net at the bottom of the machine, to find that nobody believes she left Earth because there is no physical evidence. Bringing into question faith into conflict with science.

In general, the plot and characters are standard Hollywood. There is the troubled genius, the lover, the wise old guru, the two major plot twists, speaking with a dead loved one and the little factoid at the end to justify the protagonist. Nothing exceptionally interesting originates from the plot or the characters.

What interests me is the way the director presents the conflict between faith and science. The conflict is prevalent throughout the plot and characters, from Ellie’s and Palmer’s disagreement about religion, to the religious radicals belief that we are violating God’s will contacting extraterrestrial life. I do not agree that there should be any conflict between religious institutions and science because they are two completely different fields. Certainly, science is not a religion nor is it an alternative to religion.

Although throughout history science has disproved certain ideas religious institutions touted, like the geocentric model of the Universe, science does not exist solely to refute religious ideas and faith. These historical examples are a matter of circumstance, in which religious institutions unknowingly adopted wrongful scientific ideas. But when correct theories were discovered they simply refused to let believe them. They refused to take part in the testing and falsifying of hypotheses, they refused to obey the scientific method.

Classic synthesis of faith and nature.

At first, the director presents religion and science as opposites, but subtly he changes that. Reinforcing the idea that religion and science are completely different ideas, he disposes of the religion-science conflict and embraces faith as their commonality. Faith is required in all aspects of life, even in science, yet it takes an extreme situation to show this. Ellie must convince the world she visited is real, without any scientific proof, and ironically she strictly adheres to the scientific method. Unwaveringly, she refuses to compromise her beliefs and begs for faith from the world. Due to the lack of scientific evidence, the world must have faith to believe her story. But at the very end, a presidential aide discovers that her videocamera recorded eighteen hours of footage, the exact amount of time she claims she was gone for. This suggests that the director changed his mind: deciding faith has no place in science.

Unnecessarily the media catalyzes a conflict between religion and science. There should be no dispute, even the Papacy believes that their should be any conflict as is evidenced in their acceptance of Evolution and the Big Bang theories. Instead they take a perfectly acceptable position with regards to God, they believe God set the Universe into being action and let the laws of physics create what exists today. The director, Robert Zameckis, compounds the problem in this movie and does so in a indecisive but entertaining way.

In this post I’ll be reviewing the famous sci-fi/horror movie Alien directed by Ridley Scott. The plot of this classic movie from 1979 occurs when a commercial spaceship responds to an unknown transmission from a near by planet. The crew goes to investigate the signal, believing it may be a SOS, but when they arrive at the planet they find a strange and unnatural structure. While investigating the structure, one of the members of the crew is attacked by a strange alien that attaches itself to his face, putting him in a coma and feeding him oxygen to keep him alive. The crew brings him back into the ship, where eventually the alien detaches itself from his face and dies. All seems good until the crewmember who’d been attacked suddenly starts to seize and a small, disgusting alien bursts from his chest, running off into the enormous ship. This alien quickly grows and changes into a huge and terrifying beast that hunts down the entire crew, killing them. Only one crewmember survives, eventually blowing the alien out into space. Whether you like killer aliens, gigantic spaceships, flamethrowers, evil robots, or just Sigourney Weaver in her underwear, this movie has something for everyone.

Before reviewing the cinematic aspects of this movie, I’d first like to comment on the accuracy of the science behind the movie. I found that this movie did an excellent job of sticking to basic scientific principles, that many other movies ignore, and the imagination behind those things that science does not necessary apply to goes above and beyond.

The first thing that caught my eye was in the opening sequence. The movie opens with a sweeping shot of the huge space ship, showing the back of the space ship, where the thrusters are located. I was struck by the small fact that the thrusters were not pumping out fire or even lit up the way that you see in movies like Star wars. The simple truth of the matter, and I apologize to any diehard Star wars fans, is that there’s no need for thrusters on a spaceship once it’s left the atmosphere. There are no forces to act against a moving object in open space, and, as we know from Sir Isaac Newton, an object in motion will stay in motion, unless acted on by an outside force.

The second point that I thought was very scientific, if not simply logical, was the cryogenic freezing chambers that the crew awakens from when the ship detects the unknown transmission. Obviously one could make the argument that, with the theory of relativity, time would be experienced differently for the crewmembers in the fast moving spaceship. However, if the crewmembers were to be awake throughout the entire trip, they would require a large amount of food, which would cost a large amount of money. For all we know it could be more economic to provide the crew with cryogenic freezing chambers than to feed them on a long journey. Perhaps this bit of science was unnecessary, but I hardly felt it was not scientific or even illogical.

SPOILER ALERT! The next thing I’d like to comment on is a particular twist in the movie that no one could see coming. A little bit more than halfway through the movie, we discover that one of the crewmembers, the doctor, has been a robot the whole time. The robot doctor is covered in a very realistic rubber skin and appears to everyone to be human. His purpose on the ship, as it turns out, has been to direct the ship to this planet and discover the killer alien and bring it back to earth so that the company funding the voyage can use it as a weapon. Now it may seem unrealistic that a robot could programed to exhibit all the intricacies of human personality and decision-making. In order to reconcile with this fact, we must remember that this movie takes place in 2037. I personally believe it’s more than possible that by the year 2037 we could have robots capable of masquerading as human beings. Of course we do already have IPhones with the Siri program, capable of answering questions based on internet searches, and even responding to insults with witty retorts. While that’s a far cry from humanistic robots, I still believe it’s a good example of how close we’ve come already.

There are many other scientific aspects to this movie that I would love to comment on, but at this point I think I’ll move on to one of the most striking aspects of the movie: the creativity and believability of the Ridley Scott’s killer alien. This alien is like nothing that had been imagined before or anything imagined since. It’s not your typical humanoid alien with a big green head and skinny limbs, nor does it have any of the hallmark Star trek or Star Wars alien characteristics, i.e. a human being with scales and horns, or big floppy ears and a beak. No this alien is truly a one of a kind. In its original form, the form in which it attacks the host crewmember, it most closely resembles a squid with sharp insect legs. When the crew tries to cut through one of the legs in an effort to remove it from their friends face, a green acid pours out, burning through the floor and two more levels of the ship below it. The doctor also comments that its skin seems to be made of a strong silicon crystal structure that replaces itself periodically, making it nearly immune to any severe climate changes.

The next form the alien takes, when it burst from the host’s chest, is even more disgusting and terrifying that the original. It is a small, brown creature with no eyes and a strange bulbous forehead and unnatural skin. Most terrifying are the alien’s large sharp teeth and the eerie hissing noise it makes before darting off.

The aliens final form easily the most impressive. It is first seen after one of the crewmembers hunting finds an odd skin, apparently shed by the alien, like a snake. The new form is probably around 7 to 7 and half feet tall, blue, apparently bipedal, although it’s never really clear, eyeless, and covered in sharp spikes. It has the same bulbous forehead and huge claws. The signature of the killer alien though, is its mouth. At first it appears as though the alien has nothing more than a mouth of long sharp teeth, nothing new by sci-fi terms, but when the alien opens its mouth, we see that its tongue is in fact a long white tube with another mouth, also full of sharp teeth, at the end.

At its core, Alien is a horror movie. It taps into a deep, dark human fear: the fear of being hunted by someone, or something bigger, faster, stronger and extremely adept at killing mercilessly; it’s the fear of helplessness. In his last moments, the robot doctor tells the remaining crewmembers that the alien is “the perfect organism”, meaning of course that it cannot be killed. This is the moment when the feeling of helplessness truly sinks in for both the characters and the viewer. Trapped in a spaceship in deep space with a vicious alien that cannot be killed, the only answer seems to be death.

This is what makes Alien, to me, a true masterpiece. It accomplishes the two tasks of wowing us with sci-fi creativity, and simultaneously scaring our pants off, with complete seamlessness.  This is what sets Alien apart from any other sci-fi movie, or even horror movie for that matter. 5 stars.

JJ Abram’s 2009 reboot of the beloved Star Trek franchise has been one of my favorite movies for some time now, and I am not alone in this. Critics and fans agree that this film is not only a great Star Trek film, but a great summer blockbuster, period. For those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s a (detailed) synopsis. Spoiler Alert!

The Stardate is 2233.04 and the Federation vessel USS Kelvin is surprised to find an enormous future Romulan ship, the Narada, emerging from a black hole. The Kelvin’s captain is murdered by the Romulan Captain Nero (Eric Bana), and his ship is destroyed by the Narada. 800 crew members manage to escape including Winona Kirk (Jennifer Morrison) and the newly-born James T. Kirk (Chris Pine). George Kirk, however, sacrifices himself to save the crew members.

Fast forward to Stardate 2250, and the adolescent Jim Kirk meets Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood). After a brief conversation, Pike convinces Kirk to join Starfleet. On board the shuttle to the orbiting Starfleet station, Kirk meets a distressed Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban). Three years pass when Earth receives a distress signal from Vulcan, and all cadets are assigned to their respective ships. Kirk, after being “grounded” from accusations of cheating by Commander Spock (Zachary Quinto), is brought aboard by McCoy. Hikaru Sulu (John Cho), Ahura (Zoe Saldana), and the Enterprise arrive at Vulcan after the rest of the fleet, which as been destroyed single-handedly by Nero.

After realizing the connection between Vulcan and the Kelvin incident, Kirk rushes to the bridge and attemps to prevent the Enterprise from meeting the same fate.  The Enterprise arrives at Vulcan, and Captain Pike is taken hostage by Nero, who is lowering a drill into the atmosphere to create a tunnel to the planet’s core.  Kirk and Sulu destroy the drill, but not before Nero can launch a black hole device into the center of the planet.  Krik and Sulu are brought back to the Enterprise along with most of the Vulcan High Council, including Spock’s father.  After attempting to attack Spock, Kirk is sent to Delta Vega, where he meets future Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg).  Kirk and Scott “beam” back to the Enterprise, where Kirk once again confronts Spock on the bridge.  After attacking Kirk, Spock relinquishes command of the ship to Kirk, who was promoted to First Officer by Pike.

The Enterprise, now under Kirk’s command, returns to Earth to confront Nero and the Narada.  Spock and Kirk beam aboard the Narada and fight their way to future Spock’s captured Vulcan ship.  Spock leaves in the ship while Kirk searches for Captain Pike.  Once outside the Narada, Spock taunts Nero into leaving Earth, where he is ambushed by the Enterprise.  The Vulcan ship, which contains the Red Matter, is driven into the Narada after Spock, Kirk, and Pike are all brought back to the Enterprise.  The Narada falls to the ensuing black hole.  The Enterprise barely escapes the black hole and returns to Earth, where a recuperating Captain Pike officially hands the Enterprise over to Kirk.  Future Spock watches from the balcony above.  The film ends with the classic Star Trek closer: “Space, the final frontier…”.

Many of the film’s science technology is straight from science fiction, but many of the technologies are hypothesized.  Early in the film, the Narada emerges from the future through a wormhole.  The Enterprise and other Federation ships are also capable of multiple factors of Warp speed, resulting in faster-than-light travel.  From a purely acceleration based perspective, achieving FTL speeds in impossible due to electromagnetic fields breaking down.  However, it is possible that the Enterprise runs on technology similar to the hypothesized warp drive that NASA is currently speculating.  The technology bears similar resemblance to that of Star Wars.  Both have futuristic laser-based weaponry, FTL travel speeds, and a myriad of different alien species (all of whom conveniently speak English.

This movie didn’t address any pressing social issues when it was released in 2009, but there is a notable amount of discrimination in the movie between races.  Aliens in the Star Trek universe are, for the most part, depicted as highly intelligent, highly advanced civilizations most capable of speaking fluent English, and capable of FTL travel speeds.  Spock experiences a significant amount of racism (if you can even call it that) due to his mixed heritage of both Human and Vulcan species.  McCoy calls him a “pointy-eared bastard” on multiple occasions and the entire Vulcan planet is destroyed by Nero, who showed no remorse for his mass genocide.

(http://karmajello.com/postcont/2013/06/sunshine-danny-boyle-4.jpg)

This visually stunning cinematic work by Danny Boyle is a chillingly sad and somber depiction of a future mission to keep the sun alive. The cast does a very good job of creating realistic human emotion in the circumstances they are under. A team of international professionals embarks on a mission to drop a city sized nuclear bomb on the sun to keep it from burning out, and in turn, save earth. During the last attempt the ship disappeared, now Icarus 2 is the last chance there is. The film develops a more upbeat and thrilling edge during the final quarter, balancing out the slower yet ethereal build up. The soundtrack, done by John Murphy, perfectly fits and adapts with the movie in an animated way.

I’m a fan of many of Danny Boyle’s films, specifically Trainspotting and Shallow Grave.

(http://filmjournal.net/danielstephens/files/2007/04/shallow-grave-poster2.jpg)(http://www.geekscoop.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/23520_trainspotting.jpg)

The direction is captivating and the cinematography is astonishing. Some of the digitally rendered scenes of the sun were incredibly beautiful, as was the soundtrack. I suppose the fact that I saw this movie in  Without giving away the ending, the only part of the movie I was not fully impressed with was the final scene as I found it too cliché. Although some find the beginning of the movie too slow, I recommend it to anybody that thinks they will enjoy the imagery and is interested in the gripping ending.