Making a Vortex
On a transparent layer.
I used spirograph with these settings or near them at least:
Angles 11
Density 5
Depth 50
Zoom 100
Gradient 127
Then make sure the boxes are checked for Lines, Black & White Lines, Filled with gradient and Fit rectical size.
use magic wand at around 25% and cut out the center area. If you forgot and used the default white layer remove the area outside the spirogragh.
Duplicate layer
On the lower layer use Radial Blur at about 6 or 7
On the upper layer use Zoom Blur at around 16 or 17
Its not an exact science but this is as close to the settings I used as I could get. I had to recreate it. Enjoy!
Side note: That whole picture came about becase I wanted to play with Gradient Bars. The only parts that are not background are the swirlyspaceything(thanks swalski) and the vortex. Being bored has its advantages sometimes I guess.