How much does the current Times Square New Year's Eve ball weigh?

The current Times Square New Year's Eve ball weighs 11,875 pounds.

The ball used in Times Square is a geodesic sphere about 12 feet in diameter. Its weight comes from the aluminum framework, lighting equipment, and thousands of crystal panels supplied by Waterford. It is lowered from the flagpole atop One Times Square during the final minute of the year.

The present design was introduced for the millennium celebration at the end of 1999, when the ball welcomed the year 2000. Later upgrades replaced older lighting systems with energy-efficient LEDs, allowing millions of color combinations and patterns.

The ball is not the same object used in the first drop. The 1907 version was much smaller and made primarily from iron and wood. Another frequent mistake is confusing the ball's 12-foot diameter with its weight; the diameter is a measurement across the sphere, while 11,875 pounds describes its mass.