The official minor-planet number of Pandora, named after the Greek mythological figure, is 55. The object is known as 55 Pandora and is a large asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
German astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt discovered Pandora on 10 September 1858 from Paris. The asteroid received its name from Pandora, the first woman in Greek mythology and the figure associated with the jar that released evils into the world.
Asteroid numbers record discovery order among numbered minor planets, not the size or importance of an object. Pandora is a relatively bright, stony asteroid and belongs to the S-type group. It should not be confused with Pandora, one of Saturn’s small moons, which has the same mythological namesake but a different astronomical classification.