Roanoke spokeswoman Melinda Mayo said that a couple of bulbs and a transformer have blown out on the star. It takes time to order and replace the parts, she said, so workers fixed the star so that it will continue to shine in the meantime.

As a result, the star appears different, with white edges and red and blue on the inside.

Mayo said the star should be fixed and back to normal within the next few days.

The city has changed the star's colors for various reasons from time to time. The most recent change was in 2007, when it shone white for a month in tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings.

-- Mason Adams