The Netflix series 3-Body Problem educated the population about the chaos that ensues from the gravity impacts of three planets in close proximity.
Now that conventional wisdom has been challenged by new research that modelled what happens when three massive objects meet in space.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen say that the meeting of three celestial bodies often avoids chaos and, instead, follows regular patterns until one of the objects is expelled from the system.
The popular 3-Body Problem series is based on novels by Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The plot involves an alien civilisation deciding to migrate to Earth because their own 3-body planetary system is too chaotic to support ongoing, stable civilisation.
“Such a system, with three objects influencing each other’s gravity, has fascinated scientists ever since the ‘father of gravity’, Isaac Newton, first described it,” the University of Copenhagen research report said.
“While the interaction between two objects meeting in space is predictable, the introduction of a third massive object makes the triadic encounter not just complex, but chaotic.”
Researcher Alessandro Alberto Trani said the millions of simulations in the latest research demonstrated that there were “gaps in this chaos”.
The impact of the three-bodies depended on how the objects were positioned relative to each other when they meet, as well as their speed and angle of approach.
Mr Trani hopes that the discovery will pave the way for improved astrophysics models.
“If we are to understand gravitational waves, which are emitted from black holes and other massive objects in motion, the interactions of black holes as they meet and merge are essential,” he said.
“Immense forces are at play, particularly when three of them meet. Therefore, our understanding of such encounters could be a key to comprehending phenomena such as gravitational waves, gravity itself and many other fundamental mysteries of the universe.”
The full report is on the University of Copenhagen website.
