The Extraterrestrial Hypothesis: A Case for Scientific Openness to an Interstellar Explanation for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena

Over the past several years the question of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) has commanded increasing interest. Attention has generally focused on two main classes of hypotheses: a conventional terrestrial explanation (e.g., human technology), and a more extraordinary extraterrestrial explanation (i.e., an intelligent civilization from elsewhere in the cosmos). However, while some authorities seem open to the latter (e.g., elements of the military and intelligence communities), on the whole scientists appear reluctant to consider it. This may be because such ideas have long been relegated to the "paranormal" and dismissed as a legitimate focus of enquiry. However, work has nevertheless flourished on adjacent ideas, such as the possibility of extraterrestrial life per se and the viability of interstellar space travel. As such, given these adjacent ideas, together with new evidence concerning UAP that seems to elude conventional understanding, this paper argues that the scientific community should engage with the extraterrestrial hypothesis as a real and genuine possibility.