Happy New Year!

This is a collage of different images of the 2008 Times Square Centennial New Year’s Eve Ball as it constantly transformed into a kaleidoscope of colors. The Ball was displayed at the Times Square Information Center. The LED lights can create a myriad of colors for a kaleidoscope of hues against the Waterford Crystal triangles.

NEW YEAR'S EVE BALL OF TIMES SQUARE Remains Lit All Year Round

The new Times Square New Year's Eve ball was relit last week and sent up a 141-foot flagpole on the roof of One Times Square. The ball will remain lit until the next New Year's celebration and even be used to help celebrate other holidays this year. I took this photo last January 10. "This is a New York City landmark now. It's a tourist attraction that people from all over the world will come and see, just like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building," said President Jeffrey Straus of Countdown Entertainment. "When you make your trip to New York and Times Square, your going to take back home a picture of this New Years' Eve ball with 2009 underneath." 
The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds. Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.
WATERFORD CRYSTAL created an exclusive “Let There Be Joy” design for the crystal triangles on the new Ball. Designed and crafted by Waterford artisans in Ireland, “Let There Be Joy” features the design of an angel with arms uplifted welcoming the New Year on each of the 1,728 new crystals. The remaining 960 triangles are last year’s “Let There Be Light” design of a stylized radiating starburst.
"The new 2009 Times Square New Year's Ball represents the perfect blend of time-honored craftsmanship and state of the art technology," says Pete Cheyney, Director of Corporate Communications for Waterford Crystal. "The theme for the Waterford crystals on this year's Ball, "Let There be Joy" reflects our belief that New Year's Eve is a time when happiness and optimism for the future should be at the forefront of everyone's thoughts. We at Waterford consider the Ball to be of our Company's greatest achievements."

2008 Times Square Centennial New Year's Eve Ball on Display at Times Square Information Center

Currently on display at the Times Square Information Center until February is the 2008 Times Square Centennial New Year’s Eve Ball. The Information Center is located in the beautifully-restored landmark Embassy Movie Theatre on 7th Avenue, between 46th and 47th Streets. It is open every day from 8am to 8pm.I made these images of last year's ball as it constantly transformed into a kaleidoscope of colors. Shown above are some of my favorite hues. Philips Lighting, which created the light-emitting diodes, or LED bulbs, specifically for the event, says they are smaller but more than twice as bright as last year's lights, which were a mix of more than 600 incandescent and halogen bulbs. Waterford Crystal had crafted a beautiful new design for the crystal triangles on the Ball. The lights can create more than 16 million colors for a kaleidoscope of hues against the 672 Waterford Crystal triangles.

The ball was first dropped for the New Year's Eve celebration in 1907. Made of iron and wood, it weighed 700 pounds and was lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs. Over the century, five other versions of the ball were designed to ring in the New Year. In 1999, the ball was made from crystal to welcome the new millennium. The 2008 motif is "Let There Be Light" and features a stylized, radiating sunburst on each of the crystal triangles.