Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 September 2012
The analysis of hydrogen and metal absorption lines in the spectra of distant quasars (QSOs) has become a powerful method to study the distribution and physical properties of low-density gas situated in the extended halos and circumgalactic environment of galaxies at low and high redshift. We here review the overall properties of halo absorption-line systems seen in QSO spectra and discuss their connection to the Milky Way’s population of intermediate- and high-velocity clouds.