In recent weeks, the Sun has become so loud that the Earth has been repeatedly bombarded with radiation and particles from solar plasma explosions. But Earth isn’t the only planet affected by solar storms. Mars, which is only 1.5 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun, was also affected by massive particle emissions launched into the Solar System.

The Red Planet’s magnetic environment and atmosphere are much weaker than on Earth, so the effects of solar storms look slightly different there. But instruments such as the MAVEN orbiter have recorded these effects, and we can now use this data to understand the radiation environment on Mars and how it may affect future human explorers.

“This was the largest solar energetic particle event ever seen by MAVEN,” says physicist Christina Lee of the University of California, Berkeley. “There have been a lot of solar events in recent weeks, so we’ve seen waves of particles hitting Mars.”

Here on Earth, the biggest impacts were seen in early May, when explosions known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—massive eruptions of solar plasma and magnetic fields sometimes produced by solar flares—burst in our direction.

The result was a spectacular array of aurora colors visible at latitudes normally inaccessible with such glasses, where solar particles become entangled with the Earth’s magnetic field and fall into the Earth’s atmosphere, where their interactions with the particles create a stunning light show.

The sunspot region responsible for these outbursts later returned to the far side of the Sun, but our parent star wasn’t done with its antics. There was an absolutely massive explosion on the far side of the Sun on May 20; An explosion estimated at X12 level would make this explosion one of the most powerful solar flares ever detected. Immediately after this, a CME exploded and Mars was in the line of fire.

The light of the flare arrived first, bathing Mars in solar X-rays and gamma rays. Because CME particles travel much slower than the speed of light, they arrive slightly later and cause auroras in the Martian atmosphere.

Mars no longer has a global magnetic field like Earth. It has no operational internal activity (a dynamo) to produce it. On Earth, the magnetic field accelerates solar particles towards the poles, where they rain down into the ionosphere. This is why aurora activity is concentrated at higher latitudes.

Since Mars doesn’t have a magnetic field to do this, auroras there tend to be spherical. But there is a problem. The resulting “light shows” are ultraviolet, meaning we won’t be able to see them with the naked eye.

Fortunately, we have satellites orbiting the red planet that can do this. MAVEN captures continuous ultraviolet fluctuations in the Martian atmosphere as wave after wave of solar particles hit.

Mars rovers on the surface also measured the flux of radiation from the flare. Earth’s atmosphere blocks the most energetic light from reaching the surface, but the volume of the atmosphere surrounding Mars is less than 1 percent of Earth’s volume, providing almost no protection from the sun’s rays.

Following the massive flare, Curiosity’s radiation assessment detector recorded a burst of radiation of up to 8,100 microgrids; This is the equivalent of 30 simultaneous chest X-rays and is the largest explosion recorded by the rover. Such an increase may not be fatal, but it will not be good for health either.

In fact, Curiosity’s black-and-white images taken during the storm are filled with static “snow” created by charged particles interacting with the camera.

The measurement provides a key data point for scientists working on the Mars mission to understand what kind of radiation environment researchers might be entering; this can help them develop strategies to avoid or protect against power surges.

“Rock slopes or lava tubes would provide additional protection for an astronaut against such an event. In Mars orbit or deep space, the dose rate would be much higher,” says physicist Don Hassler of the Southwest Research Institute.

Meanwhile, even more storms are expected as we enter the most active phase of the solar cycle. Hassler adds: “I wouldn’t be surprised if this active region on the Sun continues to erupt, meaning more solar storms on both Earth and Mars in the coming weeks.”