The illuminated sphere lowered in New York City’s Times Square is officially called the Times Square Ball.
The Times Square Ball is lowered from One Times Square each New Year’s Eve during the final minute before midnight. The event has become one of the world’s most recognizable public countdowns and is watched by an international television audience.
The current ball is a geodesic sphere covered with Waterford Crystal triangles and illuminated by LEDs. Its design and materials have changed repeatedly since the first drop in 1907, when a much simpler iron-and-wood ball was used.
The name is sometimes shortened informally to “the ball drop,” but “Times Square Ball” is the established name of the object. It is not the same as the nearby New Year’s Eve event or the One Times Square building itself.