Here's why:
* Conservation of Angular Momentum: An orbiting object has a constant angular momentum. Angular momentum is a measure of an object's tendency to keep rotating. It's related to an object's mass, velocity, and distance from the center of rotation.
* Kepler's Second Law: Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion states that a line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time. This means that a planet moves faster when it's closer to the Sun and slower when it's further away.
* Gravity: The gravitational force between the orbiting object and the object it's orbiting is stronger when the objects are closer together. This increased force causes the orbiting object to accelerate, increasing its speed.
Think of it this way:
Imagine a spinning ice skater. As the skater pulls their arms in closer to their body, they spin faster. This is because their angular momentum stays the same, but their radius decreases, so their speed must increase.
In conclusion:
The speed of an object orbiting another object increases as it gets closer to the object it's orbiting due to the conservation of angular momentum and the increased gravitational force.
