The main-belt asteroid named Pandora is identified by the number 55.
55 Pandora is a relatively large asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. English astronomer George Mary Searle discovered it in 1858, and it was later given the mythological name Pandora. Asteroids receive a permanent number after their orbits are sufficiently established, while their names are assigned separately.
Astronomers classify Pandora as an S-type asteroid, a broad category associated with stony composition. Its orbit is not the same as that of Saturn’s moon Pandora, even though both bodies use the same mythological name. The number is therefore the clearest way to distinguish the asteroid in catalogs.
Asteroid designations often combine a number with a name, such as 55 Pandora. The number does not indicate its size, discovery rank, or distance from the Sun; it is a sequential minor-planet designation assigned as the object’s orbit became secure.