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Astronomers are warning light pollution created by the number of satellites orbiting Earth poses an "unprecedented global threat." The number of satellites in low Earth orbit have more than doubled since 2019, when SpaceX launched a first "mega-constellation" comprising thousands of satellites. And an armada of new internet constellations are planned to launch soon. Each new satellite increases the risk it will smash into another object orbiting Earth, creating yet more debris and adding to the cloud of "space junk" reflecting light back to Earth. In a series of papers in the journal Nature Astronomy, astronomers warn this increasing light pollution also threaten observatories. Modelling for the Vera Rubin Observatory, a giant telescope being built in Chile, will mean the darkest part of the night sky will become much brighter over in the next 10 years and reduce the number of stars that can be seen by around 7.5 percent. Another Nature study suggests light pollution is much underestimated. Aparna Venkatesan, an astronomer at the University of San Francisco, said it threatened "our ancient relationship with the night sky ... connecting us through science, storytelling, art, origin stories and traditions."