Samantha Lawler

Any disruption up there could have very real practical effects for us down here on Earth.

Do we also, as a species, need to start thinking about the implications of all of that metallic pollution that we're sending into space? Should we be thinking of space in the same way we think about our oceans or our rainforests? Is this the next environmental frontier? So, look, if we're thinking on these terms, what are the visible effects of having more and more satellites in low Earth orbit? Is light pollution from space a problem? Dr Samantha Lawler is Associate Professor of Astronomy at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada.

She's worried that a huge rise in the number of orbiting satellites could affect our ability to see into space from Earth.

I'm one of the few lucky astronomers who gets to live in a place that's not full of light pollution, right? Most, most professional astronomers live in cities and people who live in cities just don't have good dark sky access.

Battle for the Night Sky Soaring numbers of satellites could pose grave threats to the heavens above and our planet below.

By Jonathan O'Callaghan Seven years ago, when Samantha Lawler moved to rural Saskatchewan to run a farm for partner, the glorious darkness overhead was one of the biggest perks.

Undiminished by light pollution, countless stars filled the night sky.

It was a pristine, celestial view that city dwellers can only dream of seeing.

Across the country and around the world, star gazers watched the Earth's shadow cast over the Moon, from Vancouver to Winnipeg, all the way through to Atlantic Canada Waldron says clouds kept him from seeing the blood moon at the peak of the eclipse in Saskatoon.

But south in Regina, astronomy professor Samantha Lawler had a perfect view.

It's kind of like every sunrise and sunset in the world at once all projected onto the moon.

So the moon was a really pretty red color.