By special request, here's an extra Makin' Planets tutorial, where I don't use Video Copilot's free Orb plugin to make a planet but instead use Element 3D to add an atmosphere. Most of the time, Orb is the best approach for planet making, but if you need to add other 3D objects, you might want to use Element for your globe. And Element doesn't come with a "add atmosphere" setting. This tutorial shows you how to create a material that behaves like an atmosphere.
Here you'll find a bunch of tutorials for using After Effects (mainly). I have a YouTube channel, called ShiveringCactus (long story - not funny anymore) where I post the videos.