General asymptotic formulas are given for the coefficient C_ℓ of the term of multipole number ℓ in the temperature correlation function of the cosmic microwave background, in terms of scalar and dipole form factors introduced in a companion paper. The formulas apply in two overlapping limits: for ℓ≫ 1 and for ℓ d/d_A≪ 1 (where d_A is the angular diameter distance of the surface of last scattering, and d is a length, of the order of the acoustic horizon at the time of last scattering, that

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... terizes acoustic oscillations before this time.) The frequently used approximation that C_ℓ receives its main contribution from wave numbers of order ℓ/d_A is found to be less accurate for the contribution of the Doppler effect than for the Sachs--Wolfe effect and intrinsic temperature fluctuations. For ℓ d/d_A≪ 1 and ℓ≥ 2, the growth of C_ℓ with ℓ is shown to be affected by acoustic oscillation wave numbers of all scales. The asymptotic formulas are applied to a model of acoustic oscillations before the time of last scattering, with results in reasonable agreement with more elaborate computer calculations.