Do Candles Burn In Space

The answer’s no, yes, and maybe.

“No”, because there’s no oxygen in space.

“Yes”, because you can burn candles in a spaceship where there’s an artificial supply of air.

The answer’s “maybe” because candles don’t burn in the micro-gravity of space exactly as they burn back here on Earth.

There’s no “up” and “down” in space, so there’s no “top” or “bottom” of a candle flame either.

Convection doesn’t draw cooler oxygen in at the bottom and throw hot exhaust gases out at the top, as it does here on Earth,

where hotter gases are less dense (weigh less per unit of volume) than cooler ones.

In the micro-gravity of space, with plenty of oxygen, candle flames are more spherical.