Hello Irina,
interesting question! The Northern Lights – as a physical phenomenon – occur year-round, but they are hard or even impossible to see during the summer months due to the midnight sun. Unfortunately, this is true for any location on Earth – whether you’re in Lapland, Iceland or Alaska. The nights get darker in late August and September, but they’re still too short, narrowing your chances to see anything (compared to the period from late October to March).
However, we can’t say the location does not matter at all. It matters to a certain degree, because the Earth’s Magnetic Poles (which channel the charged particles from the Sun, causing the northern and southern lights in the atmosphere) do not coincide with the Earth’s Geographical Poles (and also tend to wander). Currently the Northern Magnetic Pole lies north of the Canadian Arctic territories, giving a slight advantage to Northern Canada and Alaska in terms of viewing the Northern Lights. This means that statistically the lights in Northern Canada may appear slightly more intense than in Murmansk, for example, but in reality it might not be so on any given day – you never know!
What matters most is the intensity of the solar wind, which is largely unpredictable. As Tromsø Geophysical Observatory states, “If the Northern Lights are strong enough, they may still be seen against a twilight sky, and it is not unusual to see them from Tromsø on an August evening”. Respectively, if solar activity is low, you wouldn’t see any lights even in December’s clear dark skies.
To wrap it up: while it’s certainly not impossible to find the lights in late August/September, you have to be very lucky and it doesn’t really matter where you go.
Our team (Andy Fiord Production) had amazing experience shooting the Northern Lights near Tromsø and in Lapland in one of the winters. It took some patience, but it was well worth it.
If you have a project in mind, whether it involves science or fashion photography, we at Andy Fiord Production (andyfiordproduction.com) we’ll be happy to work with you! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at hello@andyfiord.com
Have a nice day!
Muriel Leo 
