The season to see northern lights, aurora borealis, on the Lofoten Islands is from September to mid-April. Before and after that, the nights are too bright to see the Northern Lights. With clouds nothing can be seen, but a clear evening can give 80% to 90% percent that it can be seen at least briefly. But it can also be hours long and sometimes spectacular. To the eye, the northern lights often appear as a white cloud, but the camera then shows green, and sometimes red and purple.