Atlas50 of 3,942

Dragonfly II.16.B

From Šuvakov & Dmitrašinović (2013). Sequences of orbits from the Belgrade three-body gallery.

Dragonfly II.16.B is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 86.875 time units, published by Šuvakov & Dmitrašinović (2013). Slim, elongated wings that stretch far from the centre of mass. It is unstable (largest Floquet multiplier 15.81), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.00168 of each other at a top speed of 24.4, line up 96 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.3×10⁻²⁵.

Measured over one period

Period: 86.87522767
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -1.42103
Angular momentum: 0
Closest approach: 0.001679
Top speed: 24.40
Path length: 224.30
Alignments per period: 96
Topology: aaBAbaBAbaBAbbABabABabAAbaBAbaBAbbABabABabABaaBAbaBAbaBBabABabAB (free-group class)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 15.81)
Loop closure: 1.3×10⁻²⁵

Neighbours on the map

All Dragonfly II orbits, the families of periodic three-body orbits, or the atlas map.