The second brightest star in the constellation → Ursa Minor.
It is a reddish, evolved → giant of
→ spectral type K4 with a visual magnitude
of 2.1. It is almost 500 times more luminous than the Sun and lies at a
distance of 126 light years. Also called Kocab, Kochah.
See also: Kochab, from Ar. al-Kaukab (الکوکب) “star,” shortened from
al-Kaukab al-shemali (الکوکب الشمالی) “North Star.”