Astronomy Picture of the Day . ... 2.08.2001 . ... It shows what appears to be a "burning tree" above the National Cheng Kung University campus in Tainan City, Taiwan ... but the burning tree is actually a fleeting red sprite 300 kilometers away. ... Cousins to lightning bolts , red sprites occur near the edge of the atmosphere and have been glimpsed by astronauts from orbit . ... August 2001 . ... Publications with keywords: lightning - sprites . Publications with words: lightning - sprites . ...