What object has descended in Times Square every New Year's Eve since 1907, except during wartime blackouts?

The object that has descended in Times Square every New Year's Eve since 1907, except during wartime blackouts, is the Times Square Ball.

The first ball was lowered from a flagpole atop One Times Square on December 31, 1907, to signal the start of 1908. It was created for a New York Times celebration after the newspaper moved its headquarters to the square, which was then known as Longacre Square.

The ball has been redesigned several times. The modern version is a geodesic sphere covered with Waterford Crystal panels and illuminated by thousands of LED lights. Its descent lasts about 60 seconds and ends at midnight, when the new year begins in the Eastern Time Zone.

A common mix-up is calling the event the “ball drop” without distinguishing it from other countdowns. The ball did not descend in 1942 or 1943 because New York’s wartime blackout rules prohibited the usual illumination and celebration. The tradition returned in 1944.