Dr Metzger is touting lunar bases as an economic boon. Currently Elon Musk wants at it for the tourists. But it all comes with a warning - light pollution.
Currently we can just about see George's Planet during a new moon. James Geach, Centre for Astrophysics Research at the University of Hertfordshire: Unless we are very careful, the more 'industrial' activity we see in space, the harder it will be to have clear views of the deep cosmos.
That is, new moons will be a feature Of The Past. But I require more evidence to buy into this.
The lunar settlements will be underground in lava-tubes, to protect from micrometeors and radiation. Also the new moons are Fourteen Days Of Night, energy-poor; I expect Earthlings to take shifts and to jet back home as the twilight wanes east to west. Who wants to stay longer in low-G to get crippled? Of those human longhaulers left behind, many may even go into hibernation.
To the extent we care about Earth-based astronomy, this timeline will host telescopes on that fabled Dark Side Of The Moon. No clouds, no atmosphere, no bright objects in the way (here, Earth). Crater Tsiolkovsky looks good for this. Also the southern polar basin which, I believe, is also free of sunlight and full of (icy) water.
UPDATE 9/16: I'd worry instead about the United Nations' base around ELL1.
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