astronomy

Portage Lake Observatory

Portage Lake Observatory is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Portage Lake Observatory rather than just read about it. In short: The Portage Lake Observatory (PLO) was an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Michigan (UM). It was located near the village of Dexter, Michigan (USA), about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Ann Arbor.

Key takeaways

Portage Lake Observatory belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Portage Lake Observatory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Portage Lake Observatory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Portage Lake Observatory (PLO) was an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of Michigan (UM). It was located near the village of Dexter, Michigan (USA), about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Ann Arbor. Construction at the site began in 1948, and the facility was closed in 1975. Other observatories that UM has operated include the Detroit Observatory (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1854), the Angell Hall Observatory (Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1927), the Lamont–Hussey Observatory (South Africa, 1928), the McMath–Hulbert Observatory (Lake Angelus, Michigan, 1930), and the Peach Mountain Observatory (Dexter, Michigan, 1955).

Telescopes A 1.32 m (52 in) reflecting telescope was built by Tinsley Laboratories in 1969 and installed at PLO the same year. In 1975 it was moved to Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, where it is now known as the McGraw-Hill Telescope. The 0.92 m (36 in) Heber Doust Curtis Telescope is a Schmidt camera that began operating at PLO in 1950. It was moved to the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile in 1967, where it is referred to as the Curtis Schmidt Telescope.

See also MDM Observatory List of astronomical observatories

References

External links University Lowbrow Astronomers homepage Department of Astronomy at the University of Michigan

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Portage Lake Observatory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Portage Lake Observatory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Portage Lake Observatory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Portage Lake Observatory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Portage Lake Observatory

In research: Portage Lake Observatory appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Portage Lake Observatory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Portage Lake Observatory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 establishments in Michigan, Astronomical observatories in Michigan, Buildings and structures in Washtenaw County, Michigan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Portage Lake Observatory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Portage Lake Observatory” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Portage Lake Observatory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Portage Lake Observatory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Portage Lake Observatory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Portage Lake Observatory in simple terms?

Why does Portage Lake Observatory matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Portage Lake Observatory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Portage Lake Observatory.