Hit M104 between two trees, so only had a limited window to view. Found by centering on Spica, then decreasing RA until I hit the expected star pattern. Verified by ensuring that χ Virginis was about 5° above. Hit this target pretty early into the night before the sky was dark enough, so the observation wasn't the greatest. Was able to make out a semi-elongated shape using AV.
Fairly evident. The center appears more noticeably brighter than the edges. AV helps with getting a hint of the 'rounder' shape.
AV is required. Appears small and almost perfectly spherical. The center is less bright than many others.