The missing'' 3 sup + state of sup 18 Ne and explosive sup 17 F( p ,. gamma. ) burning

Wiescher, Goerres, and Thielemann suggested that a missing'' {ital J}{sup {pi}}=3{sup +} level in {sup 18}Ne should occur at {ital E}{sub {ital x}}{approx}4.33 MeV, only {approx}410 keV above the {sup 17}F+{ital p} threshold. They noted that this level would provide an {ital s}-wave resonance in the {sup 17}F({ital p},{gamma}) reaction, greatly increasing its thermonuclear reaction rate. This, in turn, would have a pronounced effect on the production of {sup 17}O and {sup 18}O in explosive stellar environments. We have searched for this level using the {sup 16}O({sup 3}He,{ital n}) reaction. High-resolution time-of-flight spectra show that the 3{sup +} level occurs at {ital E}{sub {ital x}}=4.561{plus minus}0.009 MeV, {approx}230 keV higher than suggested. The astrophysical consequences of this result are discussed.