The term "nearby stars" refers to a group of celestial objects that are relatively close to our planet, Earth. These stars are part of our local galactic neighborhood and can be observed with telescopes from Earth without any difficulty. The distance between these stars and our solar system is not more than several hundred light-years. Some of the nearest known stars include Proxima Centauri (4.24 light years), Alpha Centauri A & B (4.37 light years) and Barnard's Star (5.96 light years). These nearby stars are important for astronomical research as they provide an opportunity to study star formation, stellar evolution, and planetary systems in detail.