how far away is the nearest star?

The nearest star to Earth is called Proxima Centauri. It is very far away - about 4.22 light years! That means it takes light 4.22 years to travel from Proxima Centauri to us. If you were to travel to Proxima Centauri at the speed of a jet plane (about 550 miles per hour), it would take you about 78,112 years to get there!