In Avatar, what is Pandora, the setting inhabited by the Na’vi?

In Avatar, Pandora is a moon of the fictional gas giant Polyphemus.

James Cameron’s 2009 science-fiction film places Pandora in the Alpha Centauri star system, approximately 4.4 light-years from Earth in the film’s setting. The moon is home to the Na’vi, a tall blue humanoid species whose culture is closely connected to the moon’s living environment.

Pandora is covered by dense forests and contains valuable unobtanium, a fictional mineral sought by human corporations. The film’s plot centers on the conflict between industrial exploitation and Na’vi resistance, with former Marine Jake Sully becoming involved through an avatar body.

Pandora is often mistakenly called a planet because it is the film’s main world. Scientifically, however, it is described as a moon orbiting Polyphemus. This fictional Pandora is also separate from the real Pandora, one of Saturn’s moons, and from the mythological woman linked to the famous jar.