Ultrafast phenomena is currently being studied with great vigor due to it’s the plethora of effects.   At the heart of these studies, is the plasma generated by the nonlinear effects available owing to the terawatts of peak power.  The plasma is created as filaments and has been used to guide electric discharges, with the desire to guide lightning.   Another field of study is in remote sensing because plasma can be generated beyond the material being analyzed and the returning emission is transmitted through the material and back to the source.   Considering the atmosphere is almost 80 %, a close examination on the behavior of nitrogen when it is excited by laser filaments and over the range of diffraction less propagation a desire to use the atmosphere as a reservoir of gain to replenish the energy lost.  This thesis is a spectroscopic study on the emissions of diatomic nitrogen ions pump by ultrafast pulses and filaments.