New York Grand Central’s constellations now shine more brightly

New York City's most-beloved galaxy, the constellation ceiling above Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse, came alive recently with new luminosity in the form of light-emitting diodes. Fifty-nine of the brightest stars in the winter sky, such as Castor and Pollux in Gemini and Rigel in Orion, were turned on Nov. 8 now that MTA Metro-North Railroad, steward of the Terminal, has completed installation of new fixtures.

"Using new
technology to celebrate the traditional grandeur of Grand Central’s celestial
ceiling is a testament to our commitment to improving the life of the city even
as we continue to cut costs," said Jay Walder, Chairman of Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, Metro-North’s parent agency. "We hope people
won’t run into one another as they crane their necks and peer skyward in
admiration."

"As New Yorkers face
the first workday after the return to Standard Time, when afternoons are short
and nighttimes are long, we thought it would brighten spirits to unveil these
jewels," said Metro-North President Howard Permut. "This project is
another reason to love Grand Central and we are proud to use the latest,
greenest technology in the city’s beloved landmark."

The long-lasting,
cool-burning LED lights replaced a system of fiber-optic lights, which in turn
replaced the original 10-watt incandescent bulbs. The bulbs were state-of-the
art when the terminal opened in 1913. The pride and fascination with which the
new-fangled electricity was viewed was evidenced by the bare light bulbs found
throughout the Terminal.

Over the years, the star
bulbs burned out. Replacing them was labor-intensive as the barrel-vaulted
ceiling is quite deep, 50 feet from the top of the cornice to the zenith of the
arc. Accessible only through the attic above the sky ceiling, workers would
have to crawl on all fours to reach the incandescent fixtures and screw in new
bulbs.

Over the years, as the
predecessor railroad headed for bankruptcy, there was less and less enthusiasm
for this particular maintenance chore and the bulbs burned out, one by one,
until the entire winter zodiac sky was dark. The fiber-optic system, installed
in 1997, was a major innovation when it was new and eliminated the need for
electricians to change burnt out bulbs. Seven fiber-optic light sources sent
light traveling through clear plastic tubes to the individual stars across the
expansive, barrel-vaulted concourse ceiling.

Over the years, the tubes
got brittle and brown, and did not project light with the same intensity. The
stars faded. In the search for a new, environmentally friendly solution, LEDs
seemed the obvious choice.

Metro-North sought
vendors and selected Design Plan of Frenchtown, NJ, which did the design and
supplied the equipment. Installation was performed by Metro-North electricians.
The lights, on timers, will be turned off daily from 2 a.m. until 5 a.m., while
the Terminal is closed for cleaning. The new fixtures are expected to last
50,000 hours, and use just four watts of electricity – 60 percent less than the
previous lights.

The new fixtures were
installed in their original locations so as not to disturb the famed,
25,000-square-foot cerulean ceiling, with 2,500 gold-leaf stars and a pair of
intersecting 23-carat golden arcs depicting the elliptic and the equator.

The portion of the
universe depicted in the mural shows the wintertime zodiac and associated
constellations such as Pegasus, Triangulum and Fly, as they appear in the
northern hemisphere, not as seen from Earth, but as seen from above. When the
Terminal opened, there was a civic debate about the sky being reversed, but the
builders insisted it was intentional and showed the stars from the gods’
perspective.

Each LED fixture has the
same brightness, but the glass, lens-like diffuser changes the light’s
intensity depending on its thickness and depth to better capture the size and
intensity of the actual star being depicted. Seven transformers, each servicing
several stars, change the power supply from 125 volts AC to 24 volts DC.

When gazing up, 125 feet
above the Tennessee pink marble floor, one cannot see all the lighted stars at
once. As people walk across the Concourse floor and their vantage point
changes, different stars appear, giving a twinkling impression