Somewhere on the internet, here or another site, I saw a rendering of the sun rising over a planet. It inspired me to try my own version of the idea.

Nice pic, looks like you are getting a handle on using gimp.

Thanks. I am definitely learning. I'm still a long way from where I want to be. But I'm even further from where I was. Yay, progress!

nicely done pic.

Thanks, Sallyanne.

I think the clouds need to be reworked. Other than that, I'm reasonably pleased with it.

i think i like this better with a little higher contrast.

Too monochromatic or too fuzzy? It's definitely not photorealistic like I hope to achieve one day.

just a little bump in contrast so that stars that are far from the sun toward the edges appear like they're over pure black,
i just personally think it looks nicer with a little bump in contrast