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, Oregon line. Lowell, Oregon Lowell is a city in Lane County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,045. The city is on the north shore of Dexter Reservoir on the Middle Fork Willamette River. The most used route to Lowell is along Lowell Bridge, a covered bridge that crosses the reservoir from Oregon Route 58. A post office called Lowell has been in operation since 1883. The city was named after Lowell, Maine. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land