Beta Ursae Minoris (Wikipedia) Kochab /ˈkoʊkæb/, Bayer designation Beta Ursae Minoris (β Ursae Minoris, abbreviated β UMi, Beta UMi), is the brightest star in the bowl of the Little Dipper asterism (which is part of the constellation of Ursa Minor)), and only slightly fainter than Polaris, the northern pole star and brightest star in Ursa Minor. Kochab is 16 degrees from Polaris and has an apparent visual magnitude of 2.08. The distance to this star from the Sun can be deduced from the parallax measurements made during the Hipparcos mission, yielding a value of 130.9 light-years (40.1 parsecs). Kochab has reached a state in its evolution where the outer envelope has expanded to 42 times the radius of the Sun. 
