Often romanticized in song, falling stars make for underwhelming vacation getaways because of their incinerating temperatures, supersonic speeds, and brusque hotel clerks. Study stars safely with today's Groupon: for $8, you get a family pass for four to a star show (up to a $16 value; regular admission is $4 for adults, $3 for ages 65 and older, and free for children younger than 5) at W.A. Gayle Planetarium. Shows are held at 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

The recently renovated W.A. Gayle Planetarium harnesses the sublime splendor of the night sky within its hemispheric white dome. Two hundred theater-style seats carry astrophiles through interstellar space minus the bothersome side effects of an oxygen-free vacuum. The planetarium’s latticed-framework star projector, in use since 1968, bedazzles armchair astronomers and celestial connoisseurs alike with one-hour seasonal star shows on astral phenomena. Gain extra-powerful cosmic vision with Through the Eyes of Hubble while spying on stellar births and deaths, grandiose galactic collisions, and chaotic storms on Saturn. A Trip Into Space explores black holes and planetary conditions, and Bear Tales and Other Grizzly Stories offers spirited yarns about springtime constellations while incorporating ancient Greek mythology, pirate legends, and interviews with sentient starfish long disgruntled by human appropriation of their heavenly twins.

Public star shows may vary from month to month, so call in advance to determine what will be showing.