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Centerpieces on some dining tables at the Science Center's ball looked like mini solar systems in glass bowls.

At the Sex on the Moon book party, the "Cosmo-naut" cocktail was alcohol-injected gelatin floating in a liquid chaser.

New York's Rumsey Playfield was the backdrop for the 2009 installment of the Central Park Conservancy's Halloween Ball. Large disco balls set atop urns reflected hundreds of spots of light onto the tent ceiling. The starry-night look was reinforced by projections of lightning bolts.

The celestial look for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Emmy Governors Ball in 2010 borrowed from the night sky. Starry decor transformed the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center for about 3,600 guests. Sequoia Productions, headed by Cheryl Cecchetto, produced the ball, where astrological signs inspired some of the decor elements.

At T-Mobile's “Tone-Def After-Party” during Coachella in 2009, Polite in Public set up a space theme—props included—at its photo station.

Nuage Designs provided silver linens for the dinner's tabletops.

Also on the menu: smoked salmon with charred lemon gel and bagel chips.