Kochab, also known as Beta Ursae Minoris, was the naked-eye star that served as the Earth's pole star from 1900 BC to 1100 BC. Due to precession of the equinoxes, the previous holder of the title was Thuban, and the next was the present-day Polaris.
The star is 127 light years from Earth, a K4 III of apparent magnitude 2.2 -- this makes its absolute brightness 190 times that of the Sun, though its surface is cool at 3600 Kelvin. Its mass is believed to be about 4.4 times that of the Sun. Its name derives from Arabic and means simply "the star".
