NASA's Parker Solar Probe has captured the closest-ever images of the Sun, providing unprecedented views of the solar atmosphere and solar wind. The probe flew within approximately 3.8 to 6.1 million kilometers (about 2.4 to 3.8 million miles) of the Sun's surface during a historic flyby on December 24, 2024. These images reveal detailed dynamics of solar eruptions, magnetic chaos, and ionized particles traveling through space. The data collected is expected to advance scientific understanding of space weather and its effects on the solar system, including potential impacts on Earth. This milestone represents the first time a human-made spacecraft has approached so near to the Sun, effectively "touching" the star's outer atmosphere, known as the corona. The release of these images in July 2025 has been described as a breakthrough in solar research, offering new insights into phenomena such as solar wind and sunspots that have puzzled scientists for centuries.