The brightest star closest to Earth is Sirius, also known as the "Dog Star." Sirius is located in the constellation Canis Major and is approximately 8.6 light-years away from us. It is easily visible in the night sky and has a visual apparent magnitude of -1.46, making it the brightest star in the entire night sky.
Sirius is a binary star system consisting of two stars: Sirius A and Sirius B. Sirius A is the brighter and larger of the two, while Sirius B is a white dwarf companion that is much smaller and fainter. Together, they form one of the closest stellar systems to Earth.