With travel off the table, planetarium shows transport audiences 

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The virus has most of us staying put for the foreseeable future, but we can simulate travel with a variety of immersive shows offered this season at the Strasenburgh Planetarium. We expect fascinating star shows to be projected onto the dome — and there are plenty of those, including “The Sky Tonight,” a weekly tour of currently visible stars, constellations, and planets (next up on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 12:30 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 20, at 1:30 p.m.).

But you can also check out more terrestrial wonders with “National Parks Adventure,” which takes the audience off-trail through the breathtaking expanses of Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Everglades, the Redwoods, and Arches, in an adventure narrated by Robert Redford. That’s showing next on Friday, Dec. 18, at 3:30 p.m.

And through January 3, Strasenburgh will present its annual “Holiday Laser” show, featuring the zone-out-and-chill, seasonally-themed laser visualizations set to a multi genre-spanning holiday playlist that includes symphony and chamber orchestras, pop divas, and rock ‘n’ rollers. This week’s showings are Friday, Dec. 18, at 5:30 and 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec 19, at 2, 3:30, and 8:15 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 20, at 3 p.m.

All shows are appropriate for all ages and take place at the Rochester Museum & Science Center's Strasenburgh Planetarium, 657 East Avenue. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $9 for children, students, seniors, and RMSC members. Masks are required for all visitors aged 2 and older. 697-1945; rmsc.org.

Rebecca Rafferty is CITY's arts & entertainment editor. She can be reached at [email protected].