Nice round stars and you've picked up some great dust detail in the galaxy
Good stuff!
Agree with other comments RE: flats etc. If flats seem a bit daunting at first, I recommend trying an artificial flat method which can be done in photoshop. It works fairly well and will highlight the difference it can make to a regular image. I found this resource very useful when first exploring artificial flats -
http://www.corius.net/?page_id=395
RE: Spiked stars - I artificially introduce some into my images (my telescope doesn't cause them) just to enhance the effect at times, depending on my target audience.
Cheers, Evan