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Choreography SC.338

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.338 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 17.178 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 11576), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0224 of each other at a top speed of 7.29, line up 114 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 1.4×10⁻²³.

Measured over one period

Period: 17.17764901
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 1.0231
Closest approach: 0.02241
Top speed: 7.292
Path length: 75.405
Alignments per period: 114
Topology: unresolved (close passages hide the crossings in the drawing)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 1.2×10¹⁵)
Loop closure: 1.4×10⁻²³

Neighbours on the map

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