Are the flux contaminations given in the Target Search page reliable?
No, they are meant only as a general guide. The project has asked MAST to post the following statement: “WARNING: Clarifying Crowding and Contamination It has come to our attention that the target-specific contamination (and crowding) values currently returned by the Kepler Target Search form at the MAST (http://archive.stsci.edu/kepler/kepler_fov/search.php) have been used for analysis of archived Kepler flux light curves. The contamination and crowding values at the MAST are NOT suited for such an analysis and will most likely lead to INCORRECT conclusions. The contamination values currently at MAST are intended only to facilitate the selection of isolated stars as targets. The contamination parameter for an aperture is defined as the ratio of the flux due to the target and the flux from all sources in that aperture. The contamination parameter currently on MAST is for a 21 x 21 pixel (83.6″ x 83.6”) square aperture centered on the target. This large aperture is not the same as the p
