Atlas3,875 of 3,942

Asymmetric loops

(1.12, 1.03, 0.88)

From Three Body Orbits (2026)

Asymmetric loops (1.12, 1.03, 0.88) is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three masses in the ratio 1.12 : 1.03 : 0.88 that return to their starting positions and velocities every 17.708 time units, published by Three Body Orbits (2026). Forty-two periodic orbits of topologies absent from the checked catalogues, found in a September 2026 search at unequal masses: the middle body lighter or heavier than the outer two, or all three different. Each is named by its free-group word, a few by a nickname; all are unstable. Candidate new families relative to the catalogues checked, not established discoveries. It is unstable (largest Floquet multiplier 1453), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.122 of each other at a top speed of 3.3, line up 12 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.8×10⁻²⁹. The search, its checks and the catalogue comparison are in the research note.

Measured over one period

Period: 17.70814651
Masses: 1.12 : 1.03 : 0.88
Energy: -1.00000
Angular momentum: 0
Closest approach: 0.1218
Top speed: 3.296
Path length: 37.084
Alignments per period: 12
Topology: aabABAb (free-group class)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 1453)
Loop closure: 1.8×10⁻²⁹

Neighbours on the map

All New unequal-mass families, the families of periodic three-body orbits, or the atlas map.