Observations of the 63 micron forbidden OI emission line in the Orion and Omega Nebulae

Observations of 63-micron neutral oxygen emission from the Orion and Omega Nebulae are reported which were carried out from the NASA Lear Jet flying at an altitude of approximately 13.7 km. The best estimate for the 3 P 1 - 3 P 2 transition wavelength is shown to be 63.2 microns, and the detected fluxes are found to be extraordinarily high (amounting to approximately 600 suns in M42 at 0.5 kpc and to about 2900 suns in the line in M17 at 2 kpc). Attempts are made to estimate the minimum temperature and other parameters of the emitting region in Orion. It is concluded that conditions not too different from those permitted by some current models appear to provide fluxes that agree in order of magnitude with those observed.