So what I'm trying to do is make 23 circles in the same style as the image below, but in two concentric rings instead of one big one. The circles should be the same size and also arranged in a gradient.
I know I could just "brute force it" and make them in the obvious way, but I'm trying to learn more about using Illustrator effectively and wanted a more Illustrator-y way of doing it that utilizes the tools and methods provided in the software.
Specifically I'm interested in how you, the experienced Illustrator user, would do the job. You don't have to explain it in painful detail, just enough that someone (who knows how to Google) could reasonably reproduce it. Thanks!
Note: This question previously was asking about Photoshop, but I learned from comments that Illustrator is more appropriate for the task.