A group of workers has revised the mechanism and the 2,668 glass triangles that cover the emblematic sphere of Times Square in New York, which at midnight on December 31st will descend for 60 seconds to mark the end of 2022 and the beginning of the new year.
192 new crystals have been installed in the sphere, which measures 3.6 meters in diameter and whose message this year will be “the gift of love”, represented by the designs of the new pieces which are composed of a circle of intertwined hearts.
The glass globe weighs more than 5,300 kilograms and is illuminated by 32,256 LED lights, capable of creating a palette of 16 million colors and billions of patterns that give the sphere a kaleidoscopic appearance when illuminated.
With its new crystals, the sphere will rise between 18:00 and 18:03 today, only to be dropped almost 6 hours later by the 24-metre mast that supports it.
The New Year’s celebration in Times Square dates back to 1904, when then editor of The New York Times newspaper, Adolph Ochs, wanted to organize a fireworks display for that year’s New Year’s Eve on the roof of the newspaper’s brand new headquarters to mark the move of the point of sale in the new offices in the square.
However, just three years later a ball, weighing 317 kilograms, with a diameter of one and a half meters and having a hundred white light bulbs attached to it, was used to accompany the celebration of the arrival of the new year.
The idea was inspired by spheres used in many ports, such as the one built on the roof of the Royal Observatory in London, which was lowered from the mast every day at 1pm to help ship captains launch Check your chronometers before you leave.
