DEEP IMAGING OF THE FIELD OF THE Z=4.9 QUASAR PC 1247-BAND WITH THE KECK TELESCOPE(3406, AND FAINT GALAXY COUNTS IN THE K)

We present deep images in the K-s band of the field of the quasar PC 1 247 + 3406 at z = 4.897, obtained using the near-infrared camera on th e W. M. Keck telescope. A number of faint sources have been detected, some of which appear to be quite red. Their nature and redshifts remai n uncertain at this time. These data are combined with deep Keck infra red images of five additional fields and present galaxy counts reachin g down to K-s = 22 mag, comparable to the deepest K-band surveys to da te. The data presented here are in good agreement with the Hawaii Deep Survey and represent the first independent verification of those resu lts. The slope of the log N-log S relation derived from these data agr ees well with the Hawaii Deep Survey, while the counts are slightly hi gher, especially at the faintest levels probed here. This may be due t o a presence of groups or clusters around the target objects at high r edshifts.