What is the official designation of the asteroid named 55 Pandora?

The official designation of the asteroid named Pandora is 55 Pandora.

55 Pandora is a large main-belt asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Its number indicates that it was the 55th asteroid to receive a permanent numbered designation after its orbit was sufficiently established. The name Pandora refers to the figure from Greek mythology.

The asteroid was discovered by George Mary Searle at the United States Naval Observatory in 1858. It belongs to the asteroid belt rather than the near-Earth population, so it is not the same object as Saturn’s moon Pandora.

Astronomical names can cause confusion when mythological names are reused for different objects. Pandora is also the name of a Saturnian moon and a fictional moon in Avatar. The number 55 is therefore essential for identifying the asteroid precisely in catalogs and reference works.