 Kepler @-@ 6 was named for the Kepler Mission , a NASA project launched in 2009 that aims to discover Earth @-@ like planets that transit , or cross in front of , their home stars with respect to Earth . Unlike stars like the Sun or Sirius , Kepler @-@ 6 does not have a common and colloquial name . The discovery of Kepler @-@ 6b was announced by the Kepler team on January 4 , 2010 at the 215th meeting of the American Astronomical Society along with planets around Kepler @-@ 4 , Kepler @-@ 5 , Kepler @-@ 7 , and Kepler @-@ 8 . It was the third planet to be discovered by the Kepler spacecraft ; the first three planets to be verified by data from Kepler had been previously discovered . These three planets were used to test the accuracy of Kepler 's measurements . 
