How the runaway greenhouse gas effect can destroy a planet's habitability — including Earth's

An illustration of the Earth in space connected to its inhospitable alter-ego.

Using advanced computer simulations, scientists have shown how easily a runaway greenhouse effect can rapidly transform a habitable planet into a hellish world inhospitable to life. 

Not only does this research have implications for our understanding of extrasolar planets, or "exoplanets," but it also offers insight into the human-driven climate crisis on Earth.