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Choreography SC.259

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.259 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 15.571 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 5.1500999999999993e+33), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0195 of each other at a top speed of 7.15, line up 42 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 9.2×10⁻⁷.

Measured over one period

Period: 15.57062960
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 0.95963
Closest approach: 0.01948
Top speed: 7.154
Path length: 75.486
Alignments per period: 42
Topology: aaaabAbAbAbABBBB (free-group class, read from the drawing)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 5.2×10³³)
Loop closure: 9.2×10⁻⁷

Neighbours on the map

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