By Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The celestial ceiling above Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse is now green in more ways than one.
The fiber-optic lights that have illuminated the terminal's constellation ceiling since 1997 have been replaced by new environmentally-friendly light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are expected to last 50,000 hours and use 60 percent less electricity than their predecessors.
The new system — turned on in a ceremony on Monday — will also shine brighter, as the tubes of the old system became brown over time.
"We wanted to brighten the spirits of New Yorkers," Howard Permut, president of MTA Metro-North Railroad, said in a statement. "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 mural shows the various constellations from the northern hemisphere with the LEDs lighting up the stars. Technology notwithstanding, the mural is the same as it was when the terminal first opened in 1913, when the stars were illuminated with ten-watt incandescent bulbs, which at the time were state of the art.
For comparison, the new LEDs use just four watts of electricity.
"We hope people won't run into one another as they crane their necks and peer skyward in admiration," said MTA Chairman Jay Walder.
