Night photography w/Nikon D5100 18-55mm?

Last night I took my first photo of the night sky just outside my house. I'm a beginner, so please be kind.

To be honest, it didn't turn out as expected. I expected for the stars to be more visable and the sky to be brighter if that makes sense. I would like to know if anyone could offer any tips/suggestions for improvement on the photo below (see direct link).

Could someone also please explain to me what the two single thin lines in the sky represent in the photo? Are they stars or? What causes this to happen?

Any help would be appreciated!

Actually that is what the night sky really looks like.

The further you are away from community lighting, the better (and more) stars you will see.

Entry level dSLR cameras with entry level lenses are not really designed to produce great night sky photography. I think you did a good job based upon the tools you have.

For star trail photography you can follow this guide:

http://www.liquidinplastic.com/2008/06/startrails/

For the milky way you can follow this guide:

http://www.photographyblogger.net/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way/