We have produced metastable N+(5S) ions in the laboratory by dissociative excitation of N2 with energetic electrons. The resulting radiative decay of the N+(5S) state was observed with sufficient resolution (<0.5 ¿) to completely resolve the doublet from the nearby N2 molecular radiation. The excitation function was measured from threshold to 500 eV. The cross section peaks at a high electron energy (~150 eV) and also exhibits a high threshold energy (~37 eV), both of which are typical of dissociative excitation-ionization processes. This finding complicates the explanation of electron impact on N2 as the mechanism for the source of the &lgr;2145 ¿ ''auroral mystery feature'' by further increasing the required peak cross section. Preliminary results also indicate that quenching of the N+(5S) state by N2 is not an important factor in this laboratory experiment. it is suggested that the apparent N+(5S) quenching in auroras may be an artifact due to the softening of the electron energy spectrum in the auroral E region.