Atlas191 of 3,942

Moth VIIb.16.A

From Šuvakov & Dmitrašinović (2013). Sequences of orbits from the Belgrade three-body gallery.

Moth VIIb.16.A is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 75.021 time units, published by Šuvakov & Dmitrašinović (2013). Related moths with a different winding of the outer lobes. It is weakly unstable (largest Floquet multiplier 1.068), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0012 of each other at a top speed of 28.8, line up 106 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 7.9×10⁻²⁵.

Measured over one period

Period: 75.02111447
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -1.63963
Angular momentum: 0
Closest approach: 0.001205
Top speed: 28.80
Path length: 198.51
Alignments per period: 106
Topology: abaBAbabABAbabABAbabABAbabABAbabABAbaBABabaBABabaBABabaBABabaBAB (free-group class)
Stability: weakly unstable (|λ|max 1.068)
Loop closure: 7.9×10⁻²⁵

Neighbours on the map

All Moth VIIb orbits, the families of periodic three-body orbits, or the atlas map.