The question was asked during a discussion about distances in the universe.
Answer
The most distant object that we can see with the naked eye is the Andromeda Galaxy. That is not a star, but a collection of many stars together. Anyway, the light of the Andromeda Nebula comes from stars. Those farthest visible stars are 2 million light years away from us.
The typical distances to the stars that we see with the naked eye range from a few to several hundred light years. I don’t know who the champion is. Mu Cephei maybe.
A gamma-ray burst went off last year, which must have been visible to the naked eye for a short time. In retrospect, we have realized that the light from this object was emitted more than 5 billion years ago, before the sun and the solar system came into existence. Then if you had looked in the right place, you would have seen the farthest star, and earned your name in the Guinness Book.
Answered by
Prof. dr. Christopher Waelkens
Astronomy
Old Market 13 3000 Leuven
https://www.kuleuven.be/
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