Spatially resolved spectroscopy of Coma cluster early-type galaxies - I. The database

We present long slit spectra for a magnitude limited sample of 35 E and S0 galaxies of the Coma cluster. The high quality of the data allowed us to de rive spatially resolved spectra for a substantial sample of Coma galaxies f ar the first time. From these spectra we obtained rotation curves: the velo city dispersion profiles and the H-3 and H-4 coefficients of the Hermite de composition of the line of sight velocity distribution. Moreover, we derive the radial line index profiles of Mg, Fe and H beta line indices out to R approximate to 1r(e) - 3r(e) with high signal-to-noise ratio. We describe t he galaxy sample, the observations and data reduction, and present the spec troscopic database. Groundbased photometry for a subsample of 8 galaxies is also presented. The Coma cluster is one of the richest known clusters of galaxies, spanning about 4 decades in density. Hence it is the ideal place to study the struc ture of galaxies as a function of environmental density in order to constra in the theories of galaxy formation and evolution. Based on the spectroscop ic database: presented, we will discuss these issues in a series of future papers.