Spectrophotometric observations of auroral emissions from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, show enhancements at 3889 and 5876 ¿ believed to originate from He I (3p3P→2s3S) and (3d3D→2p3P) transitions. The average intensity of each line is about 2¿1 R, but enhancements are observed during some auroral activity, with the 3889-¿ emission reaching intensities as high as 13¿3 R. Direct excitation of ambient He by auroral electron impact contributes less than 1 R at these wavelengths. Precipitating He+ ions interacting with air are most likely to produce He (3p3P, 3d3D). Lack of observable (~3 ¿) Doppler shift of the orthohelium lines in the aurora implies that the average energy of precipitating He+ must be less than 8 keV. Since the cross section for the production of He(3p3P,3d3D) decreases precipitously at He+ energies below 1 keV, the sunlit terrestrial atmospheric region magnetically conjugate to Svalbard, which at most can provide He+ with energies of a few tens of electron volts, cannot be the source of the precipitating He+ ions. Hence the solar wind, known to contain ions with energies ranging from a few hundred electron volts to a few kiloelectron volts is the most likely source of He+ precipitating in the auroras over Svalbard and, consequently, of the observed enhancement in He I 3889-¿ emission.