| | Abstract: - An objection sometimes raised to the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis
(ETH) in UFOlogy, especially as it is applied to Close Encounters of the
Third and Fourth Kinds (cases wherein UFO occupants appear), is that beings
from other worlds could not find our own atmosphere compatible. Therefore
all such reports are a' priori false. This paper goes beyond that simple "common sense" position to analyze whether it is scientifically defensible. It concludes that this anti-ETH position is not only indefensible but that reasonably
strong arguments can be made that atmospheric compatibility might be the
rule rather than the exception. Information is drawn from astronomy, planetology, biology and the history of technology. |
