SIGHTINGS


 
1998 Canadian UFO Survey
Results - Nearly 200
UFOs Last Year
By Chris Rutkowski
3-3-99
 
 
 
An analysis of 194 UFO sightings reported officially in Canada during 1998 shows that Canadians continue to see many strange things flying in the sky.
 
Ufology Research of Manitoba, working in cooperation with researchers across Canada, has released its review of 1998 Canadian UFO cases reported to private and public UFO organizations.
 
"UFO sightings continue to be reported at a fairly constant rate," says Chris Rutkowski, an astronomer and science writer in Winnipeg who for the past 25 years has been studying UFO reports in Canada. "People still report observing unusual objects in the sky, and some of these objects do not have obvious explanations."
 
According to the study: the typical UFO sighting occurs after 10:00 p.m., most sightings have two witnesses, and many witnesses are pilots, police and other individuals with reasonably good observing capabilities and good judgement.
 
This year, the study found there was an unexplained increase in the number of UFO reports from the Northwest Territories and Yukon. In addition, researchers found that most UFOs in Canada were reported in the fall than at any other time of year.
 
"We're not sure why there were some odd differences in the patterns of UFO reports last year," says Rutkowski, "but 1998 was definitely not like any other year during the past 10 years of this study."
 
While most cases involve starlike objects in the night sky, some witnesses described disc-shaped or triangular objects at close range. Although most cases had explanations, a small percentage were not that easy to dismiss.
 
"We were still left with some cases that were relatively well-investigated and involved unusual objects that did not seem to have been airplanes, balloons or stars," Rutkowski notes. "Although there is no incontrovertible evidence that some UFOs are alien spaceships as popularized in the media, the continued reporting of UFOs leads us to recommend more studies of the phenomenon by social, medical and/or physical scientists."
 
Among the 22 cases listed as "Unknowns" this year:
 
a black triangular object flying low over a truck driver on the Hope-Princeton Highway;
 
a V-shaped object which affected electrical devices in Bancroft, Ontario;
 
a softball-sized, metallic object hovering over a witness near Emerald Lake, Yukon; and a copper-coloured cigar-shaped object which flew over some campers near Blainville, Quebec.
 
For more information, and for information on regional commentators, contact:
 
Chris Rutkowski Ufology Research of Manitoba E-mail: rutkows@cc.umanitoba.ca Voice: 204-269-7553
 
The report isavailable in its entirety on the Web at:
 
www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/2653





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