  We present observations of H_2 fluorescence at wavelengths between 1000 and
1200 A from the bright reflection nebula IC 63. Observations were performed
with the Berkeley spectrograph on the ORFEUS-SPAS II mission. To the best of
our knowledge, this is the first detection of astrophysical H_2 fluorescent
emission at these wavelengths (excluding planetary atmospheres). The shape of
the spectrum is well described by the model of Sternberg (1989). The absolute
intensity, however, is fainter than an extrapolation from observations at
longer ultraviolet wavelengths (Witt et al. 1989) by a factor of ten. Of the
mechanisms that might help reconcile these observations, optical depth effects
in the fluorescing H_2 itself are the most promising (or at least the most
difficult to rule out).
