The Orion Nebula

On November 21st I enjoyed the The Orion Nebula. Known as M42 and M43, this was a spectacular Messier object - a massive nebulous dust cloud in the "sword" area near Orion's belt. There resides M42 the primary object and also M43 another nebula that is only separated by barely distinguishable dark lines or streaks. Both objects are 1000 light years away. Within M42 were four small stars - new stars I would imagine still possibly being formed. Using a 10mm eye piece, the combined nebula's filled the entire field of view. According to star maps and software like "Starry Nights", it appears there is a more distinguishable gap between objects. Due to the light pollution that night, I could barely make them out as different, independent objects. I look forward to viewing this again on a darker night.