01. How far is space from Earth? Is the distance measured from sea level? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Space is close. If you could drive straight upward in a car, you could be there in less than an hour, without breaking the speed limit. When we talk about space, we mean beyond our atmosphere. As you go upward, the atmosphere gets thinner, and it is too thin to breathe above about five miles above sea level. As you go even higher the sky gradually turns darker. At 50 miles, the sky is black, even in daylight. You are in space, and you have left the precious thin atmosphere behind. If the Earth were a grape, then the atmosphere would be as thin as its skin.

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Answer provided by Derek Webber

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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