Measurements by the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE) satellite ultraviolet spectrometer confirm that nitric oxide density is elevated in the polar thermosphere. Contemporaneous measurements by the SNOE auroral photometer are used to obtain an indication of auroral activity by measuring the equatorward boundary of the auroral oval, and deriving the position of that boundary at midnight magnetic local time. Using these measurements, nitric oxide variability at high latitude is shown to be strongly correlated with auroral activity, with a lag of approximately one day. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union