Pandora helps shepherd Saturn’s narrow F ring alongside Prometheus.
Pandora is a small inner moon of Saturn. Its gravitational influence works with that of the moon Prometheus to confine and shape the planet’s tenuous F ring. Prometheus orbits closer to Saturn than the F ring, while Pandora orbits farther away, producing the paired shepherd-moon effect.
Voyager 1 images revealed Pandora in 1980. The moon’s irregular, low-density appearance and cratered surface distinguish it from Saturn’s larger, rounder satellites. Its name comes from Pandora, the figure in Greek mythology.
Pandora is often mixed up with Prometheus because the two moons are discussed together as the F ring’s shepherds. They are separate bodies with different orbits, and both names come from Greek mythology.