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Sun, August 19, 2007
It’s been 60 years since an alien spaceship supposedly came
crashing down to Earth near Roswell, New Mexico, and the Telus
World of Science is marking the occasion with a scientific-based
UFO conference.
Jim Moroney of the
Alberta UFO
Study Group (AUFOSG) is one of six speakers slated for next
month’s conference. And he’s a believer.
Moroney, who has a background in science and teaches at both
the University of Calgary and NAIT, said an experience with a
UFO 20 years ago proved to him that intelligent life exists
beyond our planet.
“I came to the realization, very dramatically, that there’s a
reality to this,” he said, though he declined to offer specifics
of the event.
Examine possible explanations
Moroney’s group was formed 10 years ago to record and look
into reported sightings of UFOs.
“First, we see if there’s not another explanation,” Moroney
said, adding that he doesn’t automatically assume a UFO is a
spacecraft of some kind.
Gord Kijek, who co-founded AUFOSG but retired from the group
in 2002, said there has only been two times when he’s seen
something that couldn’t be explained – but that still doesn’t
mean what he saw was alien aircraft.
“Most (sightings) could very well be explained in a natural
way if we had more information,” he said.
Kijek said that in his days with the AUFOSG, inexperienced
observers reported everything from the moon to a flock of birds
reflecting light as unidentified flying objects.
'An open-minded skeptic'
He said he became involved with UFO study because of an
interest in astronomy and space. But when it comes to aliens, he
calls himself “an open-minded skeptic.”
Skepticism is something Moroney encounters, he admitted, but
less often than interest and curiosity.
He feels the upcoming conference is a reflection of the
public’s increased interest in UFOs.
“Respectable people are stepping forward and lending
credibility,” he said.
The conference, taking place Sept. 14 and 15, will also
feature nuclear physicist and Roswell researcher, Stanton
Friedman, and Dr. Jesse Marcel Jr., the son of the first
military officer at the Roswell crash site.
“The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum to
discuss some of the evidence and to challenge some of the
findings from a scientific perspective,” said David Leverton,
senior vice president at the Telus World of Science.
Next story:
Crash near Whitemud
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