An odd shift in the skies may have resulted in renewed interest in the goings on of New Brunswick residents. An annual report studying UFO sightings shows that British Columbia has been replaced as the province with the most sightings.
The
Ufology Research Institute, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, has just
released their summary of UFO related incidents in Canada for 2007. While 2004 remains a bumper-crop year for nation-wide sitings, 2007 came in a close second: 882 and 836 respectively. 2007 also saw a 12 per cent increase from 2006.
In past years, British Columbia – the western most province on the Pacific Ocean – repeatedly held the record of most recorded sightings. Last year saw a dramatic shift from the west to the east coast of Canada. UFI compiles their data from reports received by Department of National Defense, Transport Canada, and other sources: websites, blogs, etc.
Those provinces that recorded the record numbers were New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec—oddly, 2007 was also the 140th anniversary of Canada's creation, where the founding provinces were exactly the same.
Do our celestial observers know something that we do not?
Reported sightings of note include:
• a "tube-shaped" object in the sky over Saint John, NB
• a stationary object seen to be hovering low over the horizon with lights flashing, in Oromocto, NB
While many of these sky-born phenomena are eventually determined to be stars, low-flying aircraft, or other mundane objects, research co-ordinator (URI) Chris Rutkowski wonders if the gradual increase in reports is a reflection of more intense public scrutiny of the heavens—due, in part, to more attention in popular media. He also believes that, "science should be treating the subject of UFOs a little bit more seriously" as a result of this increased awareness.
As Captain Jean-Luc Picard would say, "Make it so."
