My latest leisurely pandemic activity: Amateur Astronomy!

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Congrats ! I've always wanted to do astronomy, but I'm not in a good location ...

... more because of too many trees, than too much light pollution.

You might try clicking on this Googlon: https://www.google.com/search?q=astrophotography+near+city+lights& With appropriate filters, you can remove much of the offending radiation and greatly increase contrast. The classic book on this is https://www.amazon.com/Astrophotography-Near-Lights-Joseph-Cocozza/dp/B0006WMH3K which dates from the days of film, not CCDs.

Are you doing 'star hopping' or relying on setting circles ?

Um, are you sure you got the Orion Nebula right ? It's one of the easiest finds -- I photographed it with a 35 mm camera and telephoto lens as a teenager. It DOES NOT look like a big puff of pink & purple cotton candy, that's only with big scopes and long exposures. You should see a green glow, and short exposures will show the same. Of course I had a clear FL night sky!