Simultaneous measurements were made of the solar soft x-ray irradiances and the thermospheric nitric oxide density in the tropics from the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE) satellite. The analysis of these observations for 44 days of low geomagnetic activity in the spring of 1998 show that there is a correlation between the solar soft x-ray irradiances and thermospheric nitric oxide densities in the tropics. Photochemical model calculations that used the measured solar soft x-ray irradiances as input parameters adequately reproduce the magnitude of the time-varying component of the thermospheric nitric oxide in the tropics. An additional amount of nitric oxide is present in the tropics that does not vary with the time period of the solar rotation. The conclusion of this analysis is that solar soft x-rays are the primary cause of the variation in the thermospheric nitric oxide densities in the tropics during times of low geomagnetic activity. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union