Prometheus is Saturn’s moon that shares Pandora’s mythological story and shepherds the planet’s F ring. It is an elongated, irregular satellite whose gravity helps confine and perturb the narrow ring.
Prometheus was discovered in images taken by Voyager 1 in 1980. Pandora, discovered in the same mission’s images, orbits on the outer side of the F ring, while Prometheus orbits closer to Saturn on the inner side. Their combined gravitational effects help maintain the ring’s structure.
The names come from Greek mythology: Prometheus is the Titan associated with giving fire to humanity, and Pandora is the first woman in Hesiod’s account. Saturn’s moon Prometheus is not the only satellite connected with this myth; Epimetheus is also a Saturnian moon.