Milorad B. Protić

Milorad B. Protić
Minor planets discovered: 7 [1]
1517 Beograd 20 March 1938
1550 Tito 29 November 1937
1554 Yugoslavia 6 September 1940
1564 Srbija 15 October 1936
1675 Simonida 20 March 1938
2244 Tesla 22 October 1952
2348 Michkovitch 10 January 1939

Milorad B. Protić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милорад Б. Протић; 19 September 1911, Belgrade – 29 October 2001, Belgrade) was a Serbian astronomer, discoverer of comets and minor planets, and three times director of the Belgrade Observatory.[2]

Protić is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 7 numbered asteroids during 1936–1952,[1] including 1675 Simonida, named after queen Simonida, wife of medieval Serbian king Stefan Milutin, 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 and head of the Belgrade Observatory.[3] Protić also independently discovered comet C/1947 Y1.[2]

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.[2] Naming citation was published on 30 December 2001 (M.P.C. 44186).[4]

Also, the outer main-belt asteroid 1724 Vladimir is named after Protić's grandson, 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

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(22278) Protitch". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (22278) Protitch. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 869. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_9705. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ "2348 Michkovitch (1939 AA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  4. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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