In Saturn’s system, Pandora helps shepherd the F ring with the moon Prometheus.
Pandora is a small outer shepherd moon of Saturn. Together with Prometheus, it helps influence the narrow, braided F ring through their gravitational effects. Prometheus orbits inside the ring, while Pandora orbits outside it; their positions help confine and shape the ring’s particles.
The F ring is one of Saturn’s most structurally complex rings. It is narrow, bright, and marked by strands, kinks, and braided features. The two moons do not form a rigid barrier, but their gravity continually perturbs the ring material and contributes to its changing appearance.
Pandora should not be confused with Saturn’s moon Pan, which is associated with the Encke Gap in the A ring. Pandora and Prometheus are also different from the larger moons that dominate Saturn’s system, such as Titan and Rhea. Voyager images and later Cassini observations made the small moon’s ring-shepherding role especially prominent.