Quote:
Originally Posted by mental4astro
Here in lies the biggest tip I can give you - drop your magnification, and DON'T look directly for it if you are in the big smoke. You need to slowly pan the field and rely upon your peripheral vision to pick up the faint extended glow initially. As soon as you look for it directly you won't see it. Once you've caught a glimpse of something suspicious picked up out of the corner of your eye, you've got it. Change to a medium power eyepiece and start a slow pan again for it. The two lobes of Cent A will be a faint glow. This galaxy can be one of the most frustrating objects to spot from the city. Out in the sticks, no problem.
Be patient. Centaurus A is a real challenge from the big smoke now. M33 is pretty much impossible, even though it is as bright, it is larger, and its surface brightness is abysmal as a comparison. But from a dark sky, and with perfect conditions, I've also seen M33 naked eye! Two real brain teasers.
Mental.
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A faint smudge in a GSO 20mm Superview is how I found it in the 10".
It is faint in LP skies but it can be done. Find the asterism correctly then be patient and slow scan visually till you get that first glimpse.