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Choreography SC.258

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.258 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 15.557 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 20564), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0926 of each other at a top speed of 3.71, line up 60 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.8×10⁻²⁸.

Measured over one period

Period: 15.55673097
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 1.1099
Closest approach: 0.09263
Top speed: 3.709
Path length: 76.187
Alignments per period: 60
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 2.1×10¹⁶)
Loop closure: 1.8×10⁻²⁸

Neighbours on the map

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