Coming from someone that has hosted a lot of panels, make sure that you're hosting one for the right reasons. Putting on a panel is harder than a lot of people might think. It took weeks of preparation for me to get everything together for the three I hosted this year. Sure, it's fun, and it's gratifying. . . But you want to pick a topic that you know about and preferably are passionate about. I don't understand putting on a panel about a topic that you don't know very well.
So, that's what I'd say. If you're going to do a panel, really put some thought into it. Make sure it's something you're passionate about. You want people to come back, so put the work in. Make it entertaining, but also informative.
Just my two cents. 
While this is true, there are a lot of panels out there that are hosted by people who don't have any particular qualifications except they know how to lead a group in having a good time. These types of panels usually fall into the "meet and greet" category or the "discussion and screwing around" category.
Either way, your panel will benefit greatly from 5-10 hours of pre-con preparation, or more. But not all panels have to be led by experts.
Another type of panel you can run without being an expert on a subject is a game panel. Game show knockoffs and trivia games are both popular these days. However, those often require MUCH more than 10 hours of preparation, and you still have to know what you're doing, which means research.
