Oscar De La Huerte answered
The short answer is that, no, there is no known naturally occurring environment in space that has 'air' as we know it.
Is there air in space?
Air is the word used to describe the unique atmosphere that surrounds the planet Earth.
It is a combination of gases that make it possible for us to breathe.
There is currently no known environment in space that supports air that we can breathe.
Air needs the following two things to exist:
Air on Earth is a combination of gases which forms a layer around the Earth. Air is actually retained on Earth only by the force of gravity. This enables the combination of gases (mainly Nitrogen and Oxygen) to surround the Earth and maintain life on earth.
However, space, by definition, is outside of the Earth's atmosphere. It is the space between the planets and the stars. There is no air in space because all gases are held by gravity to one or other of the planets or stars.
The various planets and stars may have 'an atmosphere' (although all the ones we know of make life of any form impossible).
Interestingly, gravity is actually stronger at ground level than it is further away, so there is more air closer to the ground.
If you were to gradually leave the Earth's atmosphere, you'd realize the air available dwindles to almost nothing. Some air can be located at about 100 miles above the earth, but after 6 miles from the surface, humans would not be able to breathe enough to live.
Is there air in space?
Air is the word used to describe the unique atmosphere that surrounds the planet Earth.
It is a combination of gases that make it possible for us to breathe.
There is currently no known environment in space that supports air that we can breathe.
Air needs the following two things to exist:
- The right type of gases in the correct quantity
- A body of mass that is big enough to create a gravitational pull able to keep these gases in one atmospheric layer.
Air on Earth is a combination of gases which forms a layer around the Earth. Air is actually retained on Earth only by the force of gravity. This enables the combination of gases (mainly Nitrogen and Oxygen) to surround the Earth and maintain life on earth.
However, space, by definition, is outside of the Earth's atmosphere. It is the space between the planets and the stars. There is no air in space because all gases are held by gravity to one or other of the planets or stars.
The various planets and stars may have 'an atmosphere' (although all the ones we know of make life of any form impossible).
Interestingly, gravity is actually stronger at ground level than it is further away, so there is more air closer to the ground.
If you were to gradually leave the Earth's atmosphere, you'd realize the air available dwindles to almost nothing. Some air can be located at about 100 miles above the earth, but after 6 miles from the surface, humans would not be able to breathe enough to live.
