* Brightness and Distance: The brightness of a star decreases with the square of the distance. This is known as the inverse square law.

* Calculation: If a star is twice as far away, it means the distance has doubled. Therefore, the brightness will decrease by a factor of 2² (2 squared), which is 4.

* Answer: A star twice as far away will be 4 times dimmer than an identical star at the closer distance.