Abstract
Summary. Narcisi's observation of Si+ and SiO+ ions in a thin layer at 110 km during a Leonid meteor shower implies an interconversion of these ions. It is proposed that the process involved is an ‘equilibrium’ Si+ + O2 ⇄ SiO+ + O. This process requires an elevated O2 vibrational temperature, from 500° to 1500°K, depending on uncertainties in the SiO+ bond strength. Since SiO+ presumably has a large electron dissociative recombination, the observed Si++SiO+ abundance implies a relatively large atmospheric silicon abundance as compared with other meteor species.
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