On 29 Dec 2003 21:30:37 GMT, in sci.astro.amateur you wrote:

M42/M43. M42 Pan 27mm 13.1” dob. Trapezium easily seen, the dark lane

This isn't anything against you, but I've seen other observing reports stating
that the Trapezium is easily seen. If you CAN'T see the Trapezium you may as
well pack it in cause you're not going to see anything and it's probably
cloudy. Seeing 6 stars in the Trapezium is often considered a test of the
seeing, or the quality of the optics.

Good point, and well taken. I should have noted whether the "e" and
"f" stars were visible. I didn't dig deep at high mag, but the "f"
star was seen. Here in Nova Scotia, the seeing can be really bad at
times when the jet stream is overhead, which it frequently is. I
recall seeing the Trapezium once as a dancing blob occasionally
differentiating into four dancing blobs one really bad night ;-).

Cheers,

- Craig