The crystal-covered ball that descends down a pole in Times Square to ring in the new year was taken for a test run Monday, as New York City officials laid out their plans for the iconic New Year's Eve event.
Officials flipped a switch to light up the dazzling geodesic sphere — weighing almost 6 tons (5.4 metric tons) and featuring 2,688 crystal triangles — which then successfully ran up and down a 139-foot (42-meter) pole atop the One Times Square skyscraper.
