Final answer:
In the context of Kepler's laws of planetary motion, when a planet is closest to the sun at the perihelion, it moves the fastest, and when it's at the aphelion, its farthest point, it moves more slowly. These concepts are illustrated by Earth's orbit, where the difference in distances affects the orbital speed and area enclosed by the orbit.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question appears to be a blend of physics concepts within the scope of Kepler's laws of planetary motion and the behavior of celestial objects in motion. When the student refers to 'Phaethon driving close to the Earth', in a scientific context this could be understood as an object, perhaps an asteroid, moving near the Earth.
In classical mythology, Phaethon is a figure who drove the sun chariot too close to the Earth, causing destruction. Ignoring the mythological reference and focusing on the orbital dynamics, in planetary motion, the point in a planet's orbit closest to the sun is known as the perihelion, where the planet moves the fastest due to greater gravitational force exerted by the sun. Conversely, when a planet is farthest from the sun, at the aphelion, it moves more slowly because the sun's gravitational pull is weaker.
The provided text references help explain these concepts clearly. For example, Earth's closest approach to the sun (perihelion) is 1.47×108 km, and the farthest distance from the sun (aphelion) is 1.52×108 km. These distances are relevant in calculating the area inside Earth's orbit, which refers to the space encompassed as the planet travels around the sun. The motion of Earth compared to Mars illustrates the fact that, since Earth orbits faster, it periodically overtakes the slower-moving Mars, similar to how a faster car on an inside track would surpass a slower one.
Outside of our solar system, the texts also give a glimpse into how time and motion are affected by extreme gravitational fields, such as those around a black hole, where time appears to slow down for the falling astronaut from the perspective of an outside observer. This highlights the universal nature of motion in the cosmos, as seen in the behavior of anything from falling objects to celestial bodies in orbit.