The impact of an event happening at a distance takes some time
to reach the observer. This is the lag time and, as the distance
increases, the lag time increases. The increase depends on the
velocity of transmission of the information.
For example, the lag time for a flash of lightning depends on
the speed of light; the lag time for the clap of thunder depends on
the speed of sound; the lag time for the person that the lightning
bolt missed depends on how fast they can run to you.