Pandora’s scientific designation is Saturn XVII, the Roman-number system’s seventeenth listed moon of Saturn. The designation appears alongside its mythological name in astronomical references.
Pandora was discovered in images from Voyager 1 taken in 1980. It is a small, irregular satellite measuring roughly 80 kilometres across at its longest dimension, and it orbits close to Saturn’s F ring.
The moon’s orbit and gravity help maintain the structure of the ring system. Because it is a low-density, irregular body, Pandora is very different from Saturn’s large spherical moons such as Titan and Rhea.
Roman numeral designations can be confusing because they reflect recognized satellite order rather than a simple distance ranking. A moon’s informal mythological name and its formal planetary designation are separate identifiers.