Atlas3,889 of 3,942

ABAbABaBAb

(1, 0.917, 1)

From Three Body Orbits (2026)

ABAbABaBAb (1, 0.917, 1) is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three masses in the ratio 1 : 0.917 : 1 that return to their starting positions and velocities every 20.762 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 weakly unstable (largest Floquet multiplier 9.301), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0108 of each other at a top speed of 9.52, line up 16 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.4×10⁻²⁶. The search, its checks and the catalogue comparison are in the research note.

Measured over one period

Period: 20.76236112
Masses: 1 : 0.917 : 1
Energy: -1.05457
Angular momentum: 0
Closest approach: 0.01077
Top speed: 9.515
Path length: 44.397
Alignments per period: 16
Topology: abaBabaBAB (free-group class)
Stability: weakly unstable (|λ|max 9.301)
Loop closure: 1.4×10⁻²⁶

Neighbours on the map

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