Milorad B. Protić ( sr-cyr, italic=yes, Милорад Б. Протић; 19 September 1911,
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
– 29 October 2001, Belgrade) was a
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
, discoverer of
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
s and
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s, and three times director of the
Belgrade Observatory
The Belgrade Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in the Zvezdara Forest in the eastern part of Belgrade, Serbia.
History Origin (1887–1891)
In 1879, Milan Nedeljković (1857–1950) received a scholarship to continue his ...
.
Life and work
Protić finished a technical secondary school in 1921 and worked as a technical draftsman until 1931.
He joined the Belgrade Observatory in 1932,
while in 1936 he started observations of minor planets, comets, and satellites, which have been continuously performed until the present-day.
Protić is credited by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
with the discovery of 7 numbered
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
s during 1936–1952,
including
1675 Simonida, named after queen
Simonida, wife of medieval Serbian king
Stefan Milutin
Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Saint King, was the King of Serbia between 1282–1321, a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. He was one ...
, and
2348 Michkovitch, a rare
Erigone asteroid named after Vojislav Mišković (1892–1976), who was a member of the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS).
The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...
and head of the Belgrade Observatory.
Protić also independently discovered comet
C/1947 Y1.
Protić died on 29 October 2001 in Belgrade. The main-belt asteroid
22278 Protitch, discovered by
Henri Debehogne at ESO's Chilean
La Silla site in 1983, was named in his memory.
Naming citation was published on 30 December 2001 ().
Also, the outer main-belt asteroid
1724 Vladimir is named after Protić's grandson Vladimir Benišek, while
5397 Vojislava is named after Vojislava Protić-Benišek, his daughter, who has been a member of the observatory's staff since 1972, where she continues her father's work on celestial mechanics and minor planets, together with her son.
See also
*
:Erigone asteroids
References
External links
OBITUARY MILORAD B. PROTI´CKosmička Srbija između Marsa i Jupiteraat naslovi.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proticzz, Milorad B
1911 births
2001 deaths
Discoverers of asteroids
*
Missing middle or first names
Scientists from Belgrade
Serbian astronomers