I agree, lens flares are pretty crappy. That was supposed to simulate the sun rising over the edge of the planet or whatever. I guess I could just blur the hell out of it so you can't really see the definition like that.
Actually, some of the larger stars are mini lens flares.
I also had to make sure that it didn't look like earth. I was tempted to use an actual satellite texture from earth while in photoshop with the planet. I ended up settling on venus, I think it was, then throwing a layer of cloud over it. I didn't get the serious definition between land and sea I was hoping for, but I also didn't want to get any closer to the planet.
*Edit*
I blurred the lens flare a little bit, added the frame, sharpened the planet surface a little...
Right now, half the image is done in Photoshop, the other half in Paint Shop Pro. If there's anything really major to be done (positioning of the planet, for example) I'll be firing up photoshop for that. Minor things like the text, etc, is handled in Paint Shop Pro.