Atlas3,880 of 3,942

AABaBAbbABaB

(1, 0.98, 1)

From Three Body Orbits (2026)

AABaBAbbABaB (1, 0.98, 1) is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three masses in the ratio 1 : 0.98 : 1 that return to their starting positions and velocities every 22.752 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 35724), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0259 of each other at a top speed of 6.6, line up 20 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.6×10⁻²⁶. The search, its checks and the catalogue comparison are in the research note.

Measured over one period

Period: 22.75152413
Masses: 1 : 0.98 : 1
Energy: -1.18853
Angular momentum: 0
Closest approach: 0.02586
Top speed: 6.602
Path length: 47.826
Alignments per period: 20
Topology: aabABAbbABAb (free-group class)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 3.6×10⁵)
Loop closure: 1.6×10⁻²⁶

Neighbours on the map

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