As is well known, the star closest to the Sun is Proxima Centauri—a component of the Alpha Centauri system also known as Alpha Centauri C—located approximately 4.2 light-years away.
However, this will not always be the case. In about 10,000 years, due to stellar motion within the galaxy, Barnard's Star will become our nearest neighbor, situated at a distance of 3.8 light-years. And that is not all: in roughly 33,000 years, Ross 248 will become the closest star, approaching the Sun to within 3 light-years. Then, another 10,000 years later, the status of our nearest cosmic neighbor will revert to the Proxima Centauri system. All these stars are red dwarfs with masses approximately one-sixth that of the Sun. Consequently, this "rotation" of our nearest stellar neighbors is unlikely to cause any significant effects on Earth or within the Solar System at large. However, in about 1.3 million years, the orange dwarf Gliese 710 will approach Earth to within approximately 0.2 light-years—effectively entering the confines of the Solar System. Such a close encounter could perturb the orbits of small celestial bodies and, in particular, trigger an intense bombardment of the inner planets by asteroids and comets.
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