Speaking of brown dwarfs\u2026<\/strong> The boundaries of planethood can sometimes be blurry. For example, a free-floating object several times the mass of Jupiter might be considered a rogue planet (a planet that isn\u2019t gravitationally bound to a star) or a brown dwarf (a \u201cfailed star\u201d that isn\u2019t massive enough to fuse helium). Learn more in our guide to rogue planets \u2014 what they are, how they form, and how they challenge categorization. Pictured: An artist\u2019s impression of a rogue planet. Image credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech.<\/i><\/p>\n A world\u2019s a world, no matter how small.<\/strong> That\u2019s Kate Howells\u2019 view when it comes to moons. Even tiny planetary satellites are fascinating worlds unto themselves, as she explores in her book \u201cMoons: The Mysteries and Marvels of our Solar System.\u201d The author (who also serves as The Planetary Society\u2019s public education specialist) discusses moons big and small in her interview in The Planetary Society\u2019s book club, featured in this month\u2019s Planetary Radio: Book Club Edition.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a huge year for space policy and advocacy.<\/strong> In this week\u2019s Planetary Radio, The Planetary Society\u2019s space policy team unpacks what happened, why funding uncertainty matters, and what comes next for space science. You can also watch last week\u2019s virtual Q&A with the team about what\u2019s happened since our October Day of Action and what to expect in the coming months.<\/p>\n Our team is taking some time off for the holidays.<\/strong> That\u2019s why there are no Mission Briefings in this week\u2019s Downlink. We\u2019ll skip those next week, too, but will still bring you other great space content to kick off 2026. Happy Holidays!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Planetary](\"https:\/\/planetary.s3.amazonaws.com\/assets\/email\/newsletter\/email-tps-logo-small.png\"){kind=logo}
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