Astronomers estimate the distance of nearby objects in space by using a method called stellar parallax, or trigonometric parallax. Simply put, they measure a star’s apparent movement against the background of more distant stars as Earth revolves around the sun.

We added a new measurement the Astronomical Unit (AU) which is based on the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. This unit is good for measuring the distances between planets. Hence the light year is a convenient and manageable unit of distance for measuring the distance between objects in space.

1.50 light years

To measure the distance d of a faraway planet, the moon or the near star (the sun) S1 by the parallax method, we observe it from two diametrically opposite positions on the earth. θ should be measured in radians. Example – 02: The moon is observed from two diametrically opposite points A and B on Earth.

about one million light years

The technology required to travel between galaxies is far beyond humanity’s present capabilities, and currently only the subject of speculation, hypothesis, and science fiction. However, theoretically speaking, there is nothing to conclusively indicate that intergalactic travel is impossible.

Distance Information Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our own, is still 40,208,000,000,000 km away. (Or about 268,770 AU.) When we talk about the distances to the stars, we no longer use the AU, or Astronomical Unit; commonly, the light year is used.

Traveling at light speed, it would take 3,000 years to get there. Or 28 billion years, going 60 mph.

The star Proxima Centauri, one of 3 stars in the Alpha Centauri system, is our sun’s nearest known neighbor at 4.2 light-years away. Hubble Space Telescope image of Proxima Centauri, the closest known star to the sun. Read more about this image.

No one knows yet, but Alpha Centauri is an obvious target. It’s the nearest star system to our sun at 4.3 light-years away. That’s about 25 trillion miles (40 trillion km) away from Earth – nearly 300,000 times the distance from the Earth to the sun.

The lists of top 10 nearest Star System to the Solar System are given below:

1. Proxima Centauri.
2. Alpha Centauri A & B.
3. Barnard’s Star.
4. Wolf 359 (CN Leows)
5. Lalande 21185.
6. UV Ceti A & B.
7. Sirius A & B.
8. Ross 248 (Andromedae)

Our closest neighboring stars are all part of the same solar system: Alpha Centauri. This triple star system – consisting of Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri A, and Alpha Centauri B – attracts a lot of interest because it hosts planets, including one that may be similar to Earth.

Stars Closest to the Sun in the Hipparcos Catalogue

Tau Ceti

Red stars

Blue stars