Characteristics of the equatorial midnight temperature maximum in the Indian sector

We present the first results on the characteristics of the equatorial midnight temperature maximum (MTM) for the Indian sector. The results are based on measurements of the Doppler width of 630 nm night airglow emission at Kavalur (12.5° N, dip ∼ 9.5° N) during March-April 1992 and Nov 1992-April 1993. Clear evidence for MTM is found on ∼ 30 per cent of the nights at Kavalur. The MTM occurs, on the average, one hour after midnight in local winter and just before midnight in vernal equinox, a seasonal pattern that is in broad agreement with that at Jicamarca (12° S, dip 2° N) in the American sector. The MTM amplitude at Kavalur is in general larger than that at Jicamarca