Step 1. Make a new Photoshop document with the following dimensions:

height: 2000 px

width: 3000px

resolution: 300 dpi

Color Mode: RGB (Image > Mode > RGB)

Step 2.Your "Background" layer will probably be white. Double-click it and press Command + I to invert the color.

make a new layer and fill it with white

set the blending mode to "Dissolve", and the Opacity to "1%"

press Command+E to merge the layers

Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur radius: ~0.5

repeat this step one more time, and set the blending mode to "Screen"

press Command+T and hold down Shift and Option to increase the size of this layer 2x to vary the size of your stars

with this same layer selected, go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast

Brightness: -44, Contrast: 100 (or to your liking)

select all of your black star layers and put into a group, label this group "Background Stars"

OR you are feeling very bold today, select them and press Command + E to merge them all together

lock this group or layer by clicking on it in the layers panel and then clicking the (lock) symbol

Step 3: make a new layer

go to your brushes and select the “Soft Round Pressure Size” brush at 25px

open your brushes palette

in Brush Tip Shape, set spacing all the way up to 1000%

check “Shape Dynamics” and set the “Size Jitter” to 100%

check “Scattering” and click on it to access the options, set “Scatter” to 1000%, and check the “Both axes” box

if you want, you can save this brush for future use by pressing the new brush icon in the bottom right corner

close out of the dialogue, make sure white is your foreground color and play around with the brush. It should be depositing stars everywhere.

make your brush smaller and make more stars for variation

Step 4: make a new layer, fill it with white

erase it with a very large soft edged scatter eraser (scroll down to the end of your brush list to select your scatter brush)

set the opacity to 25%

Step 5: make a new layer

make sure your foreground and background colors are black and white

go to Filter > Render > Clouds

then go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds

double click on the layer to bring up the Layer Style palette

add a gradient overlay to these specifications

Step 6: set the opacity to 76%

and the blending mode to "Overlay"

Step 7: make a new layer

Filter > Render > Clouds

then make another new layer, Filter > Render > Clouds and then Filter > Render > Difference Clouds

make a new layer and fill it with a nice deep blue

erase into this layer with the soft round scatter eraser

set the Opacity to 40%, and the blending mode to "Screen"

Step 8: make a new layer

Fill it with a nice bright green

erase into it with a soft-edged scatter brush eraser

make a new layer and fill it with a nice deep blue

set the Opacity to 20%, and the blending mode to "Screen"

Step 9: click on the adjustment layer symbol (looks like a black and white cookie)

select "Color Balance"

play around with these settings to get the color the way you like it

here I've boosted cyan, magenta, and blue in the midtones

I've also moved my stars layer up above the nebula layers so that it is no longer affected by the color gradient, and they are white again

Step 10: make a new layer

use a large black soft edged brush to block out some of your color and make your space darker, set the Opacity to 60%

move the "stars" layer to the top, and make another new layer on top of this

go in with your black soft edged brush and block out some of the stars

select all of these nebula layers, and click on the folder icon to put them in a folder, label it "nebula"

Step 12: crop your image to a square

double-click your Background layer to unlock it

with the elliptical marquee tool, click as close to the center of the image as you can and hold down Shift + Option to drag the circle out almost to the edge of the square

click Command + Shift + I to select the inverse

press delete to delete everything outside of the circle

Step 13: press Command + D to deselect

go to Filter > Distort > Spherize

you may have to do this 2-3 times to get it the way you want

Step 14: make a new layer

go to Filter > Render > Clouds

go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds

press Command + I to invert the layer

go to Filter > Distort > Spherize (you may need to do this twice)

hold down the option key and hover your cursor between the two layers

click to link the top layer to the lower layer (this step can be a little tricky, but this is probably my favorite Photoshop trick)

set the cloud layer to "Screen" and drag both of these layers into your original Photoshop file

Step 15: double-click the planet layer to bring up layer styles

click on "Outer Glow" and add a blue outer glow at 8% Opacity, and set the blending mode to "Screen"

Step 16: hide your cloud layer and duplicate your planet layer

set the new layer to "Multiply" and use the burn tool to create a shadow

link this layer to the original planet layer (directly below) by holding down Option and clicking between the layers

it doesn't matter for this layer, but we will link most of the other planet layers above it

Step 17: turn the cloud layer back on, and mask out the shaded side of the planet

Step 18: copy the planet layer again

using a large hard-edged eraser, erase all but a small sliver of the planet

go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur

repeat this step a few more times until you have the glow you want

these layers will not be linked to the planet layer, so move them to the very top of the layer hierarchy

Step 19: I think this planet needs more/different texture and I've always thought watermelons look spacey so lets add a watermelon texture

drag this image into your photoshop file, and place it directly above your clouds layer

set the blending mode to "Overlay"

layer textures to get create your own unique planet

Step 20: make a new layer (also linked to the planet and above everything else)

set this layer to "Overlay" (or even "Multiply" for a more subtle effect) and color away this is your chance to adjust the color of your planet

you may want to adjust your outer glow to match this layer by double-clicking the original planet to bring up the layer styles

Step 21: duplicate the "clouds" layer and bring it to the top of the rest of the layers

use the Smudge tool on the cloud layer to make them a bit more realistic

size: 10px, strength: 42%

Step 22: I'm pretty happy with this planet so I am going to put all of these layers into a folder

don't worry about "Pass Through"

at this point I am going to temporarily hide my planet layer so I can focus on the star

Step 23: Now let's get started on the star!

make a new layer

with a very large white hard edged brush, click once to make a circle as close to the center of your image as you can

Step 24: duplicate your star layer

go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur

Step 25: make a new layer

switch to a soft edged brush that is the same size as your star

set the brush blending mode to "Dissolve" (this drop-down menu is directly to the right of your brush in the top bar)

click once

Step 26: go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur

select "Zoom", "Best" and crank up the Amount to 100

Step 27: order your layers like this:

top layer: Star

new layer filled with bright red

Middle: Gaussian Blur

lowest: Radial Blur

link the red layer to the Gaussian Blur layer by holding down Option

Step 28: on your "star layer" (with the hard edge) double click to bring up layer styles

add an orange/tangerine Outer Glow at 100% Opacity and a size of 180px

add an inner glow in the same color also at 100% Opacity and a size of 70px

Middle: Gaussian Blur

lowest: Radial Blur

link the red layer to the Gaussian Blur layer by holding down Option

Step 29: make a new layer

make sure black and white are your foreground and background colors

Filter > Render > Clouds

Filter > Render > Difference Clouds

Filter > Distort > Spherize

Filter > Distort > Spherize (again)

now take this layer and squish it into a circle the same size and directly above your star layer

link it to the star layer by holding down Option

set the blending mode to "Multiply"

Step 30: add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer

click "Colorize"

bump up the Saturation to 100, and Lightness to +50

move the "Hue" slider around until it is the color you want

select the clouds layer and the Hue/Saturation layer and press Command + E to merge

copy this layer and set it to "Overlay"

repeat the steps above to change the Hue/Saturation and merge

rotate it by 90 degrees for variation in your star texture

make sure this layer is linked to the ones below it

Step 31: make a new layer and set it to "Screen"

paint a lot of white into this layer to make your star glow

Step 32: turn your planet back on and work with the composition

Step 33: make sure black and white are your foreground/background colors

Filter > Render > Clouds

Filter > Distort > Twirl and set the angle all the way to 999

repeat the Twirl

Step 34: set the blending mode to "Screen" and squish the twirl so it looks like a ring

mask out the part that goes behind the planet

bring down the Opacity and Fill for more subtle rings

Step 35: make a new layer and link it to the rings layer

set this layer to overlay and use it to color your rings

Step 36: download this image of a potato and drag it into your composition

add a subtle outer glow, and use Hue/Saturation to color it to your liking

don't forget to add a shadow

The Final Product!