In astronomy, what type of object is Pandora, the small body near Saturn’s F ring?

In astronomy, Pandora, the small body near Saturn’s F ring, is a moon of Saturn.

Pandora was discovered in 1980 through images returned by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. It is an irregular satellite that orbits near Saturn’s narrow F ring and helps influence the ring’s structure. Its neighboring moon Prometheus has a related gravitational role, and the pair are often called shepherd satellites.

The moon was named after Pandora from Greek mythology. This naming connects it with Prometheus, another mythological figure associated with Saturn’s satellite system. Pandora is therefore an astronomical namesake, not the object from the myth and not the galaxy cluster known as Pandora’s Cluster.

Its irregular shape and bright surface make it part of Saturn’s intriguing ring-and-moon environment. Because popular culture often uses “Pandora” for planets, boxes, and fictional worlds, the astronomical classification is worth stating precisely: Pandora is a natural satellite of Saturn.