Atlas3,647 of 3,915

Choreography SC.260

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.260 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 15.659 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 4.8931e+3), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0352 of each other at a top speed of 5.77, line up 72 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 8.1×10⁻⁶.

Measured over one period

Period: 15.65914823
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 1.1061
Closest approach: 0.03518
Top speed: 5.768
Path length: 72.169
Alignments per period: 72
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 4.9×10³⁰)
Loop closure: 8.1×10⁻⁶

Neighbours on the map

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