Why don't planets move faster when they are closer to the Sun?

In fact, they do. The closer a planet orbits the Sun, the faster is its orbital speed. Mercury orbits at about 47.9 kilometers/sec and Pluto orbits at 4.7 kilometers/sec. Any comet or asteroid will also attain speeds similar to these when they are at the typical distances of these planets in their orbits around the Sun.


Copyright 1997 Dr. Sten Odenwald
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