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Milutin Milanković (1879 - 1958) and his contribution to European astronomy. (English) Zbl 1025.85001

Summary: The contribution to European astronomy of Milutin Milanković is analyzed. A crater on the far side of the Moon, a crater on Mars, and asteroid 1605 are named after this most distinguished Serbian astronomer. He explained the phenomenon of the ice ages by an astronomical theory. Milanković elucidated also the history of the Earth’s climate as well as that of planet Mars, and in addition he was the author of the mathematical theory of climate and of the Earth’s polar motion. He did important contributions to celestial mechanics and the history of astronomy, and was a great popularizator of science. At the orthodox church council in 1923 in Istanbul, he submitted a proposal concerning the reform of the calendar, elaborated by him and by Maksim Trpković, providing for a more exact calendar than the Gregorian one. The calendar of Milanković is now used by some orthodox churches, such as the Greek and Romanian ones.

MSC:

85-03 History of astronomy and astrophysics
86-03 History of geophysics
85A04 General questions in astronomy and astrophysics
01A70 Biographies, obituaries, personalia, bibliographies

Biographic References:

Milanković, Milutin
Full Text: DOI

References:

[1] Dimitrijević, Bull. Astron. Belgrade 156 pp 205– (1997)
[2] : 1993Bibliografija Milutina Milankovića, SANU, Beograd
[3] Indjić, Bull. Astron. Belgrade 155 pp 169– (1997)
[4] : 1936Durch ferne Welten und Zeiten. Briefe eines Weltallbummlers, Koehler und Amelang, Leipzig
[5] : 1939Durch ferne Welten und Zeiten. Briefe eines Weltallbummlers, 2. Aufl., Koehler und Amelang, Leipzig
[6] : 1941Kanon der Erdbestrahlung und seine Anwendung auf das Eiszeitenproblem, Posebna izdanja Srpske kraljevske akademije, Beograd (vol. CXXIII)
[7] : 1947Osnovi Nebeske mehanike, štamparija Rožanovski, Zagreb
[8] : 1953Dvadeset i dva veka hemije, Svetlost (Biblioteka Svetlost, kolo I, 1), Kragujevac
[9] : 1979Uspomene, doživljaji i saznanja, SANU, Beograd
[10] : 1979Vasiona XXVII/4, 126
[11] : 1979Milankovićeva astronomska otkrića, Vasiona XXVII/4, 101
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