Star profile

Kochab

Beta Ursae Minoris · Ursa Minor

3D likeness based on its real data · class K · ~4,200 K

What is Kochab

Kochab is an orange giant in Ursa Minor, second in brightness after Polaris and separated from it by barely a fist held at arm's length. Three thousand years ago, when Egyptian priests aligned temples to the celestial north, it was Kochab —not Polaris— that marked the pole. The precession of the equinoxes has shifted it with geological patience; it is still there, 131 light-years away, awaiting its next turn twelve thousand years from now.

Where it is and when to see it

Kochab lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is February, when it culminates around midnight.

From London it never sets and culminates about 67° up.
From New York it never sets and culminates about 57° up.
From Sydney it never rises above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 16° S.

It ranks no. 2 in brightness among the 25 stars of Ursa Minor in our catalogue. To find it, start from Polaris, the brightest: it lies about 17° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 130 years ago.

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Astronomical data for Kochab

Constellation: Ursa Minor
Apparent magnitude: 2.07
Distance: 131.0 light years
Coordinates (J2000): RA 222.677° · Dec 74.156°
Catalogue: HIP 72607 · HD 131873

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Other stars in Ursa Minor

Ursa Minor has 25 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 25 stars in Ursa Minor