The closest star to us (besides Sun, of course) is the faint, red dwarf star called Proxima Centauri. This star is only 4.2 light-years away.  A *light-year is a measurement used to measure how far light travels in one year.  A *light-year is about 60 million miles.  The light we see from this star has traveled for 1,500 days. The next closest star to us is Alpha Centauri, which is also only 4.2 *light-years away.  Betelgeuse, in the constellation Orion, is very bright, but is still 600 *light-years away.