The asteroid associated with Pandora is numbered 55 Pandora. In asteroid naming, the number records the object’s place in the sequence of minor planets that were discovered and officially recognized; it is not a mythological measurement or a reference to the number of gifts given to Pandora.
55 Pandora was discovered by George Mary Searle on September 10, 1858, at the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. Searle named it after Pandora, the figure from Greek mythology whose opened container released troubles into the world.
The asteroid is a main-belt object, meaning that it orbits the Sun in the broad region between Mars and Jupiter where many asteroids are found. Its mythological name follows a long astronomical tradition of using figures from Greek and Roman mythology for minor planets.
It is also important not to confuse 55 Pandora with Pandora, one of Saturn’s moons. The asteroid and the moon share a mythological name but are different astronomical objects with different discoveries and orbital systems.