The main-belt asteroid Pandora, discovered by George Mary Searle in 1858, is designated 55 Pandora.
Searle discovered the asteroid on September 10, 1858, from the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. It was the first asteroid discovered by an American astronomer. The object was later named Pandora after the figure in Greek mythology.
55 Pandora is a stony asteroid in the central region of the main asteroid belt. It completes an orbit around the Sun in roughly four years and has a diameter of about 66 kilometres. Astronomers have also studied its light curve to estimate its rotation and shape.
It should not be confused with Pandora, one of Saturn's moons. The asteroid is identified by its number and name, while the satellite is identified by its planetary system and has no asteroid number.