The official name of asteroid 55, discovered in 1858 and named for Pandora, is 55 Pandora.
55 Pandora is a large main-belt asteroid discovered by George Mary Searle on September 10, 1858, from the Albany Observatory in New York. It became the 55th numbered minor planet after its orbit was established sufficiently for permanent numbering. Its name refers to Pandora from Greek mythology.
The asteroid travels around the Sun in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Like other main-belt asteroids, it is not a moon of a planet, despite sharing its name with Saturn’s moon Pandora. Astronomical catalog numbers help distinguish objects that have similar mythological names.
The asteroid is also associated with the Pandora family, a group of asteroids believed to share a common origin. Naming conventions in the asteroid belt frequently draw on mythology, while discoveries are identified by both a number and a name.