In the 1920s Milutin Milankovitch, a Serbian geophysicist and astronomer, suggested that orbital changes could cause periodic cooling of the Earth, with the coldest periods occurring every 41,000 years. Milankovitch believed that the Earth’s orbital changes were the cause of glaciations. The orbital eccentricity of the Earth follows a cycle of about 100,000 years and the inclination axis varies periodically between 22° and 24.5° in a 41,000 years cycle. The inclination axis is responsible for the seasons; the greater the inclination, the greater the contrast between summer and winter temperatures. The precession of the equinoxes and the oscillations of the rotation axis have a periodicity of 26,000 years. Milankovitch’s model explains the changes in the contrast between the seasons, and this is confirmed by oceanic sediments and fossils. However, since the overall exposure to the Sun remains the same it does not account for glaciations. Astronomical cycles have lasted for millions of years, while glaciations began 2.58 million years ago. Orbital changes are at the most a co-factor of glaciations.

 

The Vital Needs Theory - page 96

Home