The giant illuminated sphere lowered in New York City's Times Square at midnight is the Times Square Ball.
The ball descends the flagpole atop One Times Square during the final minute of the year. Its descent is watched by people in the square and by television audiences around the world. The object is commonly called the ball drop, although the ball itself is the Times Square Ball.
The current design is covered with Waterford crystal triangles and is much larger than the original 1907 ball. One Times Square has remained the visual center of the ceremony even as the newspaper headquarters that inspired the event changed uses. The event's official name and the name of the sphere are therefore related but not interchangeable.