Nuclear levels of Mg-23 near and above the proton threshold were inves
tigated with high resolution. A new level has been identified at 7.643
MeV (66 keV above the proton threshold) with a possible J(pi) = (3/2,
5/2)+. Some other spin-parity and excitation-energy assignments are a
lso made. These results enable the reaction rate estimate of Na-22(p,g
amma)Mg-23 with much smaller uncertainties, which is critical for the
Ne-E problem in nuclear astrophysics.