  Lyman $\alpha$ (Ly$\alpha$) is now routinely used as a tool for studying
high-redshift galaxies and its resonant nature means it can trace neutral
hydrogen around star-forming galaxies. Integral field spectrograph measurements
of high-redshift Ly$\alpha$ emitters indicate that significant extended
Ly$\alpha$ halo emission is ubiquitous around such objects. We present a sample
of redshift 0.23 to 0.31 galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope
selected to match the star formation properties of high-$z$ samples while
optimizing the observations for detection of low surface brightness Ly$\alpha$
emission. The Ly$\alpha$ escape fractions range between 0.7\% and 37\%, and we
detect extended Ly$\alpha$ emission around six out of seven targets. We find
Ly$\alpha$ halo to UV scale length ratios around 6:1 which is marginally lower
than high-redshift observations, and halo flux fractions between 60\% and 85\%
-- consistent with high-redshift observations -- when using comparable methods.
However, our targets show additional extended stellar UV emission: we
parametrize this with a new double exponential model. We find that this
parametrization does not strongly affect the observed Ly$\alpha$ halo
fractions. We find that deeper H$\alpha$ data would be required to firmly
determine the origin of Ly$\alpha$ halo emission, however, there are
indications that H$\alpha$ is more extended than the central FUV profile,
potentially indicating conditions favorable for the escape of ionizing
radiation. We discuss our results in the context of high-redshift galaxies,
cosmological simulations, evolutionary studies of the circumgalactic medium in
emission, and the emission of ionizing radiation.
