Figure 1

[Normal - TIFF: 1.7M]
[Large - TIFF: 15.3M]
[Normal - JPEG: 77k]
[Large - JPEG: 509k]

Figure 2

[Normal - TIFF: 1.1M]
[Large - TIFF: 10.0M]
[Normal - JPEG: 168k
[Large - JPEG: 1.44M]

Caption: Figure 1 shows a three-colour composite image of the small sky field observed with the ISAAC multi-mode instrument at VLT ANTU during the FIRES project. The central field observed by the HST WFPC2-camera is outlined in white. The photo is a combination of one HST exposure (in the I-filter at wavelength 0.814 µm; here rendered as blue) and two ISAAC exposures (J_s; 1.24 µm; green - K_s; 2.16 µm; red). A large number of distant red sources is visible: these sources are hardly visible in the HST observations.

Caption: Figure 2 is a reproduction of the ISAAC K_s-image with a total exposure time of 35.6 hours of optimal observing time, and with extraordinary image sharpness, 0.46 arcsec. It is the deepest image ever obtained in this waveband. The field measures 2.5 x 2.5 arcmin²; North is up and East is left.

Figure 3

[Normal - TIFF: 521k
[Normal - JPEG: 77k]

Caption: Figure 3 shows the central part of Figure 1 in more detail. A striking variety of colours is evident, reflecting the different types and distances of the galaxies in this field.

Caption: Figure 4a (top left) display images of some of the galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field South, as they appear in different colours, including the V+I (HST - 0.55 + 0.81 µm; left) visual band, the near-infrared K_s-band (VLT - 2.16 µm; middle), together with optical-to-infrared I,J,K-colour composites (HST+VLT; right). Three very red galaxies, all at large distances, are found to be very bright in the infrared. The upper two have compact shapes, whereas the galaxy at the bottom is very large, comparable to the size of the Milky Way galaxy in which we live. Red galaxies like these that were found in the present survey are a major constituent of the Universe at high redshift. Three other galaxies in Figure 4b (top right) are equally distant but are bluer and their images are also extended. There are indications of star formation in some knots in the rudimentary spiral arms. The large galaxies represent a class never before seen at this large distance and they look surprisingly similar to giant spiral galaxies like our Milky Way galaxy or our nearest neighbour Andromeda (M31). Figure 4c (bottom) shows the apparent size of Andromeda, on the same image scale, if placed at the similar distances as the HDF-S galaxies.