Far ultraviolet airglow emissions at 1304 and 1356 A from atomic oxygen have been observed to exist in two bands or arcs 12° to 15° north and south of the magnetic equator, the height-integrated intensity of the emissions maximizing between 2100 and 2200 LT during equinox. Two of the mechanisms thought to be responsible for producing the excited states of atomic oxygen are neutralization (O+ + O− → O* + O) and radiative recombination (O+ + e → O* + hν). To investigate the contribution made by each process, the daily variation of the column emission rate from 20°N to 20°S dip latitude in the ionospheric F region is theoretically calculated by numerically solving the time-dependent electron continuity equation, taking into account the effects of production, loss, ambipolar diffusion, vertical E×B drift, and neutral winds. The geomagnetic field is approximated by a centered, tilted dipole, and the effects of east-west drift have been neglected. Since the electron density's latitudinal distribution is strongly dependent on vertical E×B drift, the generated airglow intensity is also drift dependent, but in a different way for each generating mechanism. Results are presented, and the differences are investigated for two electric-field models assuming solar-cycle maximum and minimum. Of the two mechanisms, radiative recombination produces results that are in better agreement with the observations, although the calculated emission rates are still lower than the observed values.