  The interaction between the endohedral unit in the single-molecule magnet
Dy$_2$ScN@C$_{80}$ and a rhodium (111) substrate leads to alignment of the Dy
4$f$ orbitals. The resulting orientation of the Dy$_2$ScN plane parallel to the
surface is inferred from comparison of the angular anisotropy of x-ray
absorption spectra and multiplet calculations in the corresponding ligand
field. The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) is also angle dependent and
signals strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy. This directly relates geometric
and magnetic structure. Element specific magnetization curves from different
coverages exhibit hysteresis at a sample temperature of $\sim4$ K. From the
measured hysteresis curves we estimate the zero field remanence life-time
during x-ray exposure of a sub-monolayer to be about 30 seconds.
