from 1706: with his formula, which is equal to Euler's formula from 1755: and which converges faster than Machin's formula. He had checked his result with the similar Hutton's formula: He had developed the second term in the series only once. Although he worked in the subjects of ballistics, physics and astronomy, his major contributions are to the mathematics of the second half of the 18th century. In 1781 Vega tried to push further his idea in the Austrian Habsburg monarchy about the usage of the decimal metric system of units. His idea was not accepted, but it was introduced later under the emperor Franz Josef I in 1871. Vega was a member of the Academy of Practical Sciences in Mainz, the Physical and Mathematical Society of Erfurt, the Bohemian Scientific Society in Prague, and the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. He was also an associate member of the British Scientific Society in Göttingen. He was awarded the Order of Maria Theresa on May 11, 1796. In 1800 Vega obtained a title of hereditary baron including the right to his own coat of arms. Legacy Jurij Vega High School (Gimnazija Jurija Vege) in Idrija was founded in 1901 as the first Slovene Realschule. In 1935, Vega (crater) on the Moon was named after Vega. The National Bank of Slovenia issued a 50 tolar banknote in his honour in 1993, and the Slovene Post Office issued a stamp honouring Vega in 1994. The asteroid 14966 Jurijvega, discovered on July 30, 1997, is named after him. Slovenia's Vega Astronomical Society is named after both Jurij Vega and the star Vega. The star, however, is not named after Jurij Vega and its name is much older. A free open-source physics library for 3D deformable object simulation, Vega FEM, has also been named after Vega. Scientific genealogy Vega is also notable as the tutor and academic advisor of , resulting in a notable scientific genealogy (see Academic genealogy of theoretical physicists: Jurij Vega). References External links Jurij Vega on the Slovenian 50 Tolars banknote. Georg Freiherr von Vega at MacTutor History of Mathematics archive Vega and his time Vega FEM library 1754 births 1802 deaths 18th-century Carniolan people 18th-century mathematicians 18th-century physicists 18th-century astronomers Carniolan mathematicians Carniolan physicists Carniolan astronomers Ballistics experts Pi-related people Barons of Austria Slovene nobility Carniolan nobility People from the Municipality of Dol pri Ljubljani