UFO sightings across the country may reach record highs this year, says a group that tracks reports of unidentified flying objects.

Canadians reported 400 sightings in the first six months of 2004, up from 300 for the same period the year before.

Many of the light sources can be explained, said Chris Rutkowski, research co-ordinator for Ufology Research of Manitoba, a private, non-profit, volunteer organization that investigates UFOs.

It could be meteors burning through the atmosphere as they fall, or powerful spot lights that shine into the night sky to promote celebrity events.

But others remain mysteries worthy of scientific investigation, said Rutkowski.

The sightings come from all provinces, but this year aliens seem partial to the West. Manitoba has had 50 sightings, already more than double the total for 2003, perhaps drawn to the flatness of the Prairies as a potential landing strip.

One of the strangest sightings in that province occurred last month when two people were driving along Highway 6 near the northern community of Ponton. They saw two bright, orange-coloured lights zoom across the early morning sky. The first rose up out of the bush beside the road and flew in front of them. A second ball of light came across the road and then both flew away, scaring the car's occupants, said Rutkowski.

Lighting sightings reported

There were other notable sightings too.

At a military base in Beaverbank, N.S., in April, three people spotted several lights in the east, including a slow-moving red one bobbing up and down. Suddenly, a second red light swooped in, prompting the first one to climb upwards and fly over it.

In July, a couple in Rosemont, Que., saw a bright red light moving slowly westward, travelling much too low to be an airplane or helicopter. The object plunged to the ground and disappeared after about a minute.

In June in Edmonton, two people on a hill watched in awe for 90 minutes as four distinct lights hovered above them. At first they thought the images were satellites until they began moving erratically, closing in, spreading out, travelling in one direction, curving back in another, said Rutkowski.

In March, in a widely reported incident, the pilot of Prime Minister Paul Martin's plane reported seeing a "very bright light" falling through the air, with smoke trailing, while the aircraft passed over Suffield, Alta.

Rutkowski isn't sure why the numbers are rising, but suspects it might be linked to a resurgence of interest in space because of the exploratory missions to Mars and Saturn.