Absorption-line systems and galaxies in front of the second-brightest quasar, PHL 1811

The extraordinarily bright quasar PHL 1811, at a redshift z(em)=0.192, provides an attractive opportunity to use ultraviolet absorption-line spectroscopy to study the properties of gas systems in the local universe. A short (11.3 ks), exploratory spectrum of this object was obtained by the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) with a signal-to-noise ratio of 20 per lambda/20,000 resolution element over the most relevant portions of the coverage from 907 to 1185 Angstrom. This spectrum reveals seven extragalactic absorption systems, one of which is a Lyman limit system at z(abs)=0.08093 with 17.5