Canadians reported a record 1,004 UFO sightings in 2008, according to Ufology Research, an independent, non-profit research organization based in Winnipeg.

The report's co-author Chris Rutkowski says the numbers is by far the highest they have seen since the group started counting in 1989.

According to their research the vast majority of sightings turn out to be airplanes, towers or other known objects, but a few sightings each year are strange and remarkable.

He says one of the strangest cases occurred last March, when people in two vehicles saw an object the size of a car float quickly across a highway near Wadena, Saskatchewan.

According to a study the organization released Friday, Manitoba reported 52 sightings, up from 47 in 2007.

Alberta reported the most, at 157 sightings.

Rutkowski says the spike in Alberta sightings is likely due to increased interest in sky watching after a meteor burned through the sky in November, landing in the central part of the province.

Of the hundreds of reports in 2008, only about 10 per cent were labelled as unexplained after review.

Rutkowski says less than one per cent of those were "high quality unknowns," objects that were both unexplained and had above-average levels of investigation and documentation.

"Venus makes up about half of all sightings," Rutkowski told CTV News.

He said at this time of year the planet looks particularly magnificent as it moves low along the horizon.

"People looking at it through binoculars see it as moving because of the slight shake that's in their hand," he said. "And when people try to video-tape it, the video camera's focus is often racking, making it appear as a flat disc with smudges."

According to the study, cases ranged from the relatively commonplace reports of star-like lights in the night sky to large, V-shaped craft flying slowly over homes in rural or urban areas.

Rutkowski notes that in 2008, hundreds of photos and videos of UFOs in Canada were posted on websites. "But most of these were stars, planets and aircraft rather than alien spacecraft."

Ufology Research began its national collection and analysis of Canadian UFO reports in 1989, making this the 20th year sightings have been studied. A report with the 20 years of data will be released later this year.

The complete 2008 Canadian UFO Survey can be found on the Ufology Research website.