Above the Arctic Circle, a brief but vivid display of the aurora borealis stopped a CTV News crew in its tracks this week as they rode aboard the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers.
Skywatching at sea
CTV News reported that the three-person crew was working late on edits when photographer Marley Parker stepped on deck and returned quickly with a single, urgent message:
“The northern lights are out.”The team rushed into the night and found the sky clear, the wind eased and a bright ribbon of green and yellow arcing across the darkness.
Parker set up a time-lapse camera on the bow and left it running for an hour to record the scene. The footage, shot aboard the icebreaker as it traversed the Northwest Passage, captured the lights wrapping the vessel in colour — not a marine mammal or polar bear sighting, but a memorable moment nonetheless.
What happened and why it matters
The episode illustrates two things that will be familiar to readers in Aurora. First, the northern lights remain an arresting and communal spectacle wherever they appear: even the most focused work paused to take in the sky. Second, it underscores ongoing Canadian activity in Arctic waters, here represented by the Des Groseilliers and the Coast Guard presence.
- Vessel: Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers
- Photographer: Marley Parker, CTV News
- Location: Above the Arctic Circle, Northwest Passage
- Event: September aurora borealis display captured by time-lapse
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Platform | Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Des Groseilliers |
| Media | CTV News crew (photographer Marley Parker) |
| Phenomenon | Aurora borealis (green and yellow ribbons) |
Local context for Aurora residents
For residents of Aurora, Ontario, the story serves as both spectacle and reminder. The town’s very name evokes the lights; many locals have an affection for auroral displays and for stargazing that extends from rural edges into the city’s neighbourhoods when conditions permit. While displays seen from northern Arctic waters can be stronger and more sustained than those visible much farther south, geomagnetic activity occasionally produces visible effects at mid-latitudes, giving Aurora residents a chance to glimpse similar phenomena.
Beyond aesthetics, the report highlights Canada’s operational footprint in Arctic waters. The Des Groseilliers — a longstanding vessel in northern service — is used for icebreaking and Coast Guard missions, and CTV’s embedded crew were documenting Canada’s efforts to bolster Arctic security and presence. For communities across Ontario, including Aurora, that presence is part of a broader story about national sovereignty, northern infrastructure and the challenges of operating in harsh environments.
CTV’s time-lapse footage, taken for approximately an hour from the bow of the ship, is a reminder that even professional routines can pause for an extraordinary view of the natural world. For many in Aurora who track sky conditions or participate in local astronomy groups, the images reinforce a shared curiosity about the North and the conditions that drive auroral activity.
Photographs and videos from such voyages also contribute to public understanding of the Arctic at a time of heightened attention to northern regions, climate change and the strategic importance of Arctic waterways. For readers here, a clear night and a flurry of geomagnetic activity may offer an opportunity to step outside and look up, taking in the same phenomenon that halted work on the deck of a Canadian icebreaker far to the north.
CTV News plans to share the full report later this week, including more from the crew embedded with the Des Groseilliers and the footage captured during the display.
