What is the name of the large illuminated sphere lowered at One Times Square each New Year’s Eve?

The large illuminated sphere lowered at One Times Square each New Year’s Eve is the Times Square Ball.

The modern ball is a geodesic sphere covered with Waterford crystal panels and lit with LEDs. It is lowered during the final minute of the year, reaching the bottom of its pole at midnight. The ceremony is watched by crowds in Times Square and by television audiences around the world.

The tradition began in 1907, but the object has changed repeatedly. The first ball was made of iron and wood, while later versions used aluminum and other materials. The current design is far heavier and more technologically advanced, with programmable lighting that can create changing colors and patterns.

The ball is sometimes mistakenly called a globe, but it is a ball rather than a geographic model of Earth. It also does not simply drop through the air: a controlled mechanism lowers it along a pole. One Times Square is the building from which the object is displayed.