Messier was French, so his name is pronounced Messy-ay. Messier was interested in comets, but made a list of objects that could be mistaken for comets, but weren't, because they didn't move against the background of the stars. Let's highlight, by season, some of the brighter and more spectacular Messier objects and one he missed. This is the brightest and closest emission nebula at about 1700 light years away. It is a haze surrounding the group of stars that appear as the middle of the three stars of Orion's sword.
Low power is best here.
Use higher power to spot the dimmest of the clutch of four stars called the Trapezium at the nebula's center. The dark intrusion into the bright nebula called the Dark Bay is a dark cloud superimposed on the nebula. M41 below Sirius is a large star cluster also easily visible in binoculars. M35 near Castor's foot in Gemini is a wonderful galactic or open star cluster. Larger telescopes can spot a tiny dim star cluster nearby.