ELI5. Tidal locking.
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Gravity’s influence falls off by distance, and orbiting bodies are quite large. The near side is being pulled slightly harder, causing it to bulge. As the orbiting body rotates this bulge pulls away, causing the body to flex as the bulge shifts and siphoning away energy from its rotation.
Overall the result is that over time the orbiting body will tend to settle with one face always pointing towards what it is orbiting. This is called tidal locking.
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