Kepler-6 is a

G-type star A G-type main-sequence star (Spectral type: G-V), also often, and imprecisely called a yellow dwarf, or G star, is a main-sequence star (luminosity class V) of spectral type G. Such a star has about 0.9 to 1.1 solar masses and an effective temp ...

situated in the constellation Cygnus. The star lies within the field of view of the

Kepler Mission The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbi ...

, which discovered it as part of a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

-led mission to discover Earth-like planets. The star, which is slightly larger, more metal-rich, slightly cooler, and more massive than the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, is orbited by at least one

extrasolar planet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...

, a

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

-sized planet named

Kepler-6b __NOTOC__ Kepler-6b is an extrasolar planet in the orbit of the unusually metal-rich Kepler-6, a star in the field of view of the NASA-operated Kepler spacecraft, which searches for planets that cross directly in front of, or transit, their host ...

that orbits closely to its star. Kepler-6-Sun comparison

Nomenclature and history

Kepler-6 was named for the

, a

project launched in 2009 that aims to discover Earth-like planets that

transit Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

, or cross in front of, their home stars with respect to Earth. Unlike stars like the

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...

, 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-4 is a sunlike star located about 1610 light-years away in the constellation Draco. It is in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA operation purposed with finding Earth-like planets. Kepler-4b, a Neptune-sized planet that ...

Kepler-5 Kepler-5 is a star located in the constellation Cygnus in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA project aimed at detecting planets in transit of, or passing in front of, their host stars as seen from Earth. One closely orbiting ...

Kepler-7 Kepler-7 is a star located in the constellation Lyra in the field of view of the Kepler Mission, a NASA operation in search of Earth-like planets. It is home to the fourth of the first five planets that Kepler discovered; this planet, a ...

, 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. The discovery of Kepler-6 was confirmed by follow-up observations made using the Hobby–Eberly and

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

telescopes in

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; the Keck 1 telescope in

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; the

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and

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telescopes in southern

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; the WIYN, MMT, and Tillinghast telescopes in

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; and the Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands.

Characteristics

Kepler-6 is a star that is approximately 1.209 M_sun, or some five-fourths the mass of the Sun. It is also wider than the sun, with a radius of 1.391 R_sun, or seven-fifths of that of the Sun. The star is approximately 3.8 billion years old, and has an effective temperature of 5647 K (9,705 °F). In comparison, the Sun has a slightly warmer temperature of 5778 K. Kepler-6 has a metallicity of e/H= +0.34, making it 2.2 times more metallic than the Sun. On average, metal-rich stars tend to be more likely to have planets and planetary systems. The star, as seen from Earth, has an

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's ...

of 13.8. It is not visible with the naked eye. In comparison,

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...

's apparent magnitude at its brightest is slightly brighter, at 13.65.

Planetary system

Kepler-6 has one confirmed extrasolar planet; it is a gas giant named

. The planet is approximately .669 M_J, or some two-thirds the mass of planet

. It is also slightly more diffuse than Jupiter, with a radius of approximately 1.323 R_J. Kepler-6b orbits at an average distance of .0456 AU from its star, and completes an orbit every 3.234 days. The

eccentricity Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to: * Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal" Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics * Off-Centre (geometry), center, in geometry * Eccentricity (g ...

of the planet's orbit is assumed to be 0, which is that of a circular orbit.

References

{{Stars of Cygnus Planetary systems with one confirmed planet Cygnus (constellation) 17 Planetary transit variables

Nomenclature and history

Characteristics

Planetary system

See also

References