Mercury's spin and its orbit around the Sun are tied to each other in a unique arrangement. According to a set of calculations, random asteroid impacts may have aided the planet's evolution into the current spin-orbit pattern.
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Ćuk, M. Kick for the cosmic clockwork. Nature Geosci 5, 7–8 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1362
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1362
