Star Wars has never cared much about real-world physics.
The backlash against The Acolyte showing a fire in space would be understandable if Star Wars had ever followed the rules of real-life science, but it hasn’t. From the beginning, George Lucas wanted Star Wars to look like a fantasy; in fact, that’s why he referred to it as science-fantasy rather than science fiction. It’s also partly what the label conveys, which has always been ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away’.
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Even beyond that, there are many examples going back to the original trilogy that demonstrate that the focus of Star Wars is not to produce factual or scientific depictions of space. Since A New Hope, Star Wars has broken the rules of physics, including having sounds in space. Arguably this is part of what makes Star Wars so beloved; the sounds of TIE fighters traversing space or the incredible sound effect that follows Holdo’s manoeuvre in Star Wars: The Last Jedi make Star Wars so much more fun to watch.
