The moon Pandora, named after the Greek myth, orbits Saturn. It is a small inner moon associated with Saturn’s narrow F ring.
Voyager 1 images revealed Pandora in 1980, and the International Astronomical Union later approved its name from Greek mythology. Pandora is classified as a shepherd satellite because its gravity helps influence the shape and structure of Saturn’s F ring. Prometheus, another moon of Saturn, also plays a shepherding role.
This astronomical Pandora is separate from Pandora in James Cameron’s Avatar. The film’s Pandora is a fictional moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus, whereas Saturn’s Pandora is a real natural satellite in our Solar System.
Because Pandora is small and irregularly shaped, it is not one of Saturn’s large classical moons such as Titan or Rhea. Its importance comes partly from its relationship with the ring system and from the way spacecraft observations expanded knowledge of Saturn’s satellites.