What is the name of the illuminated sphere lowered in Times Square at midnight on New Year's Eve?

The illuminated sphere lowered in Times Square at midnight on New Year's Eve is called the Times Square Ball.

The tradition began in 1907, when the New York Times arranged for an illuminated ball to descend from the flagpole atop One Times Square. The display replaced fireworks as the newspaper's central New Year's spectacle after city officials restricted fireworks in the crowded area.

Today the ball is a geodesic sphere about 12 feet in diameter and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds. Its surface contains thousands of Waterford crystal panels and LED lighting capable of producing many colors and patterns. The object is raised well before midnight and lowered during the final minute of the year.

The ball has not descended every year: wartime dimouts during World War II suspended the illuminated drop in 1942 and 1943, when crowds observed a moment of silence instead. The New Year's Eve ball is therefore a specific object and tradition, not a generic crystal globe.