AstroGrav Help /Sample Simulations /Abstract Systems /Figure of EightVersion 5.3

Figure of Eight

This simulation shows three identical stars that follow each other around in a figure of eight pattern. It is very similar to the middle-right example at:

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/orbits.html

You can run the simulation to see how the three stars move, and edit one or more of the stars to see what effect your changes have. Since different computers run at different speeds, you may need to edit the evolution time step to get the simulation to run at an acceptable rate.

There's lots of information about metastability in the evolution of triple systems at:

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2003MNRAS.344.1091M