The minor planet named after the mythological Pandora is 55 Pandora, discovered in 1858. It is an asteroid in the main belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
English astronomer George Mary Searle discovered 55 Pandora on 10 September 1858 from the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. The number 55 indicates its position in the sequence of numbered minor planets, not a measurement of its size or orbital period.
The object’s name comes from Pandora of Greek mythology. Astronomers have often assigned mythological names to asteroids, especially members of the early asteroid discoveries. The name should not be confused with Saturn’s moon Pandora, which is a separate body and was discovered much later.
55 Pandora is also classified as an S-type asteroid, meaning its surface is broadly associated with stony, silicate-rich material. Its astronomical identity is therefore distinct from both the myth and the modern idiom about a box.