I am new to astrophotography. Are the star flares a result of the reflector or did you use a special filter. What were the settings for the pictures. Did you use guiding?
Most of the time flares are caused from the supports that hold the secondary mirror in position. The light ends up diffracting around the supports and causing the flares. Also, the number of diffraction spikes tells you how many supports are used, so some people can make educated guesses on what type of telescope took the pictures without being told. Similar like us counting aperture blades using bokeh.
