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Choreography SC.117

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.117 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 12.462 time units, published by Simó (2001). Carles Simó’s catalogue of three-body choreographies with nonzero angular momentum, the curves that made choreographies famous. All unstable except the figure-eight. It is unstable (largest Floquet multiplier 69835), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0128 of each other at a top speed of 9.44, line up 54 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.1×10⁻⁸.

Measured over one period

Period: 12.46200140
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 1.0428
Closest approach: 0.01284
Top speed: 9.444
Path length: 58.471
Alignments per period: 54
Topology: unresolved (close passages hide the crossings in the drawing)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 7.0×10¹⁸)
Loop closure: 1.1×10⁻⁸

Neighbours on the map

All Simó’s choreographies, the families of periodic three-body orbits, or the atlas map.