Canon of Insolation and the Ice-Age Problem

Milutin Milankovitch, a Serbian mathematician and geophysicist, developed a theory linking long-term climate changes to astronomical factors. His work, particularly his book Canon of Insolation and the Ice-Age Problem, proposed that variations in Earth's orbit—specifically its eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession—affect the amount of solar radiation (insolation) received at Earth's surface.12

These orbital cycles, known as Milankovitch cycles, operate on different timescales and interact to influence global temperatures. Milankovitch calculated how these cycles would impact insolation at various latitudes, suggesting that periods of low summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere could lead to the formation of large ice sheets, thus explaining the ice ages. While initially met with skepticism, his theory was later vindicated by deep-sea core studies confirming the correlation between these orbital cycles and Earth's past climate variations.12