Dozens of temporary gas turbines are plaguing local residents ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
September 9, 2026—Residents are choking on the exhaust of nearby SpaceXAI data centers' power plants. Plus, gray whale populations are in an alarming decline, and a glimpse into the life of a Denisovan.
—Andrea Gawrylewski,
Chief Newsletter Editor
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MACS J0416 galaxy cluster. NASA/CXC/SAO/G. Ogrean et al. (x-ray); Hubble/NASA/ESA/STScI (optical/infrared); JWST/NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Jose M. Diego/IFCA/Jordan C. J. D’Silva/UWA/Anton M. Koekemoer/STScI/Jake Summers/ASU/Rogier Windhorst/ASU/Haojing Yan/University of Missouri (infrared)
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For decades, strange cosmic objects from distant galaxies have been beaming radiation out into space, recorded by the Chandra Space Telescope. But what exactly these objects are is a bit of a mystery. | 3 min read
An analysis of ancient bones found in a Chinese cave offer glimpses of how ancient human ancestors, the Denisovans, lived more than 130,000 years ago. | 2 min read
Should you have a few close friends? Or a wide network of many, less-close friends? Psychology has some insight on what's best. | 18 min podcast
You may be less able to cope with stress in winter than in summer (that rings true for me). Seasonal changes have a stronger effect on our mood and behavior than we might think. | 5 min read
There are just five perfect shapes in math, called Platonic solids. Topology explains why there are so few. | 5 min read
According to some archeologists, autocratic governments are not inevitable when populations grow larger—a variety of societies around the globe throughout history have done things differently. | 13 min read
Join the discussion: Yesterday, OpenAI announced that its AI had solved one of the six open "million-dollar" problems in mathematics. Do you feel differently about a major scientific advancement when you learn that AI played a role in it? Why or why not? Share your thoughts here.
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SpaceXAI’s Southaven power plant feeds one of its data centers across the Tennessee state line in Memphis. By July, Mississippi regulators counted 69 temporary gas turbines at the site—more than double the number the company had previously acknowledged. Kevin Wurm
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Data Center Backlash
To generate the enormous power needed to train its Grok chatbot, SpaceXAI relies on two Colossus data centers in the Memphis area. Since 2024, those data centers have been powered by temporary gas turbines. At the Colossus 2 power plant, which backs up to a residential area in Southaven, Miss., across the state line from the data center, the temporary power fleet was up to 69 turbines as of July 2026; the temporary turbines are now being phased out as the permanent facility comes online. In an investigation published today by Scientific American, local residents say they’re plagued by exhaust from the turbines, and enduring sleepless nights from the constant noise.
Why this is happening: Across the country, AI companies are building huge data centers, and powering them has become the constraint. Data centers now use around 4 to 5 percent of U.S. electricity, and the Electric Power Research Institute projects that share could reach 9 to 17 percent by 2030. SpaceXAI decided to build Colossus at a vacant former Electrolux factory in South Memphis. The local power grid couldn’t deliver enough electricity on SpaceXAI’s timeline, so the company brought generation onsite with portable gas turbines rather than waiting for a conventional power plant or utility upgrade.
Health impacts: Local residents say the noise from the temporary turbines is relentless—like the sound of a jet engine revving up on the tarmac that never fades away. The noise has drawn a lawsuit: residents of Southaven filed a class action alleging lost sleep and falling property values. Meanwhile, a preliminary analysis of readings taken over four months found that fine-particulate-matter (PM2.5) concentrations around one house in Southaven exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s daily health-protection standard about a third of the time. (The monitors could not determine how much of the pollution came from the power plant.) At least 10 schools, three daycares, two libraries, 11 parks and 27 churches sit within two miles of the plant, according to a local advocacy group. Dozens of gas turbines in one place can produce very high levels of nitrogen oxides, according to Daniel Cohan, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. Those pollutants can irritate the lungs, worsen asthma, and form ground-level ozone, the main ingredient in smog.
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SpaceXAI’s gas turbines rise at the end of a residential street in Southaven, Miss.Kevin Wurm
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Legal hurdles: Though Mississippi law has a determination that portable equipment can run for up to a year without air permits, in April the NAACP sued, calling the operation an unpermitted power plant—a fleet that state records later showed had grown to dozens of machines. The Department of Justice moved to intervene on xAI’s side and asked the court to dismiss the NAACP suit, arguing that shutting down the power source for Colossus 2 would threaten AI innovation and national security. In fact, in a sworn declaration, the Pentagon’s chief digital and artificial-intelligence officer told the court that Grok is one of only four proprietary frontier AI models currently capable of supporting national-security applications.
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Amanda Montañez; Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (data)
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As of mid-August, 187 gray whales have been found dead this year along the West Coast, from Mexico to Alaska. Scientists have scrambled to investigate, hoping to prevent further deaths in a species that has been in decline for years—gray whales lost 35 percent of their population between 2020 and 2025. So far, the evidence suggests the animals are starving to death because their food source has been disrupted by climate change. (Warning: Please take care clicking through to this story—graphic images and descriptions.) | 5 min read
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Banning peanuts from schools doesn't keep kids safe from allergies. There are better ways. | The Washington Post
The discovery of an inscription on a 3,200-year-old stone points to the existence of a lost ancient Egyptian city. | Gizmodo
Postpartum psychosis is often misdiagnosed. Here's one writer's story. | The Cut
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If this newsletter sparked your curiosity today, consider a subscription to Scientific American. Start today: 90 days for just $1.
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As data centers pop up everywhere across the U.S., regulation and policy is already playing catch up. How should these facilities be powered and what restrictions would you like to see enacted by local and federal governments? Share your thoughts here.
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—Andrea Gawrylewski,
Chief Newsletter Editor
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