Your views and videos of Venus

June 6, 2012, 8:55 PM EDT

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

The transit of Venus may be finished until 2117, but videos and pictures of the phenomenon are continuing to gush all over the Internet. If you missed Tuesday's nearly seven-hour astronomical spectacle, you can get up to speed with a 39-second video from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. If you've got a little more time, sit back and watch the three-minute version with a soaring soundtrack.

Another time-lapse video from the SDO team lasts just 12 seconds — but it shows one of the most scientifically significant phenomena surrounding the transit: the "Arc of Venus," an interval during which sunlight is refracted around Venus' disk, creating a "ring of fire." Close analysis of the refracted light can provide insights into the dynamics of Venus' mysterious atmosphere.

The video also gives you a taste of the optical "black drop effect" that occurs when Venus crosses the edge of the sun's disk:

Here's a jaw-dropping view of Venus crossing the edge of the sun's disk from Japan's Hinode sun-watching satellite. You can make out the thin arc of sunlight refracted by the planet's atmosphere:

The Hinode sun-observing satellite captured this stunning view of the planet Venus crossing the edge of the sun's disk.JASA / NASA / Lockheed Martin

Over the past couple of days, we've run lots of pictures of Venus crossing over the sun's disk, but I can't pass up the opportunity to share some of the transit pictures that were shared by Cosmic Log correspondents. Here's a selection:

Photographer Jerry Horn took this picture of his son pointing to Venus crossing the face of the sun at sunset, west of Tucson, Ariz. Technical details: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF f/4 300mm IS with a 1.4x Extender and B W 1000x neutral density filter.Jerry Horn

A pelican and a planet cross the sun in a picture taken by Vik Sridharan in Redondo Beach, Calif. Here are the technical specs: Canon 50D 70-200 F4L 1.4TC; UV, Polarizer, and ND400 filters.Submitted by Vik Sridharan / UGC

David Fuller says this is hisSubmitted by David Fuller / UGC

David A. Harvey made careful plans for this picture of the transit.David A. Harvey

Geese fly in a line over the sun, seemingly dodging the round dot of Venus' disk, in this picture from John Bonnell.Submitted by John Bonnell / UGC

Harish Khandrika captured the Venus transit at sunset with a helicopter flying across the sun's disk, at the Torrey Pines Glider Port in La Jolla, Calif.Submitted by Harish Khandrika / UGC

The amazing thing about this photo is that Elizabeth Ahlborn of Fond du Lac, Wis., used a pair of binoculars to project an image of the sun onto a white piece of paper. Then she took a photograph of the projection, which shows the black dot of Venus toward the bottom of the sun's disk.Submitted by Elizabeth Ahlborn / UGC

Thanks to everyone who submitted pictures, including Brian Helm, Adam Rybczynski, Jim Belfiore, Jacqueline Croasdale, Tommy Fortunato, Gary Brandon, Robert Schmidt, Steve Siedentop, Justin Van Hassel, Amy LeBaron, Xihui Zhang, Christopher Klug, David Hall, Jim Walsh, Bruce Korsmeyer (from Venus, Texas!), Steve Moulding, Kevin Palmer, Don Heaton, Brian Sinofsky, Tom Rejzek, Dave Holbrook, Sean Kinslow, Ameer Hassoun, John Melson, Veronica Hernandez, Jarra McGrath, Jason Heinitz, Howard Chan, Sam Stouffer, Eric Steele, Tim Baker, Dinar Dalvi, James Owen and Andrew Lee.

We won't have to wait until 2117 for the next astronomical photo op: Keep an eye out for coming attractions, highlighted by the Delta Aquarid and Perseid meteor showers of late July and mid-August.

More views of the Venus transit:

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

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