EXOSAT observations of clusters of galaxies - I. The X-ray data

X-ray observations of 45 clusters of galaxies made with the European X-ray Observatory Satellite, EXOSAT, are presented. The 0.1–20 keV spectra obtained constitute the largest homogeneous spectral sample presently available. Here the analysis of the spectral and imaging data is described. A significant scatter in the correlation between the X-ray luminosity and temperature, which can be interpreted as variations in the ratio of the gas mass to total mass amongst the clusters, is found. The measured iron abundances are consistent with a ‘canonical’ average value of 0.3 solar. The large majority of clusters are found to be cooling in their cores, indicating that cooling flows are a common phenomenon.