The closest star you can see at night is Proxima Centauri. It's a red dwarf star located in the constellation Centaurus.

Here's the catch:

* Proxima Centauri is too faint to see with the naked eye. You need a telescope to observe it.

* The brightest star you can see at night is Sirius, but it's much further away than Proxima Centauri.

To answer your question directly:

* Closest visible star (with telescope): Proxima Centauri, 4.24 light-years away.

* Brightest visible star (with naked eye): Sirius, 8.6 light-years away.