Pakistan, Oct. 2 -- When news first broke that a foreign body, nicknamed Atlas, had drifted into our solar system from the deep unknown, the story ignited imaginations across the world. Unlike the countless comets and asteroids that pass silently and obediently under the rule of gravity, Atlas appeared to resist the script of physics, straying from expected trajectories, releasing strange exhaust, and fueling a chorus of voices who insisted that this was no ordinary celestial wanderer. For some, it was a harbinger of hope, for others a reason for dread, and for many more, simply another case of social media whipping fantasy into fear.

As the reports multiplied, so too did the speculations. Atlas, they said, was not just a ball of rock an...