NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew closer to the sun than any human-made object ever — a stunning technological feat that scientists liken to the historic Apollo moon landing in 1969.

The daring NASA spacecraft made its closest-ever approach to the sun at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT) on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24).

Our sun is far from the flawless orb of light we see in the sky. Spacecraft observations have long shown that, up close, the "surface" of our star rumbles with powerful eddies and