Percival Lowell detail in mid-1896 soon after the Alvan Clark & Sons refracting telescope was installed at his new Flagstaff, Arizona observatory. Lowell observed the planet high in the daytime sky with the telescope's lens stopped down to 3 inches in diameter to reduce the effect of the turbulent daytime atmosphere. Lowell observed spoke-like surface features including a central dark spot, contrary to what was suspected then (and known now): that Venus has no surface features visible from Earth, being covered in an atmosphere that is opaque. It has been noted in a 2003 "Journal for the History of Astronomy" paper and
Lowell, Massachusetts of some of the top research laboratories in Massachusetts. UMass Lowell is the second largest state university and fifth largest university in Massachusetts, while MCC is the second largest Associate's college in Massachusetts. Lowell Public Schools operates district public schools. Lowell High School is the district public school. Non-district public schools include Greater Lowell Technical High School, Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School, Lowell Community Charter Public School, and Lowell Collegiate Charter School. Lowell Public Schools is an above average, public school district located in Lowell, MA. It has 14,247 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 14