Which minor planet, numbered 55, was named after Pandora in 1858?

The minor planet numbered 55, named after Pandora in 1858, is 55 Pandora. It is a relatively large main-belt asteroid discovered by George Mary Searle on September 10, 1858, at the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York.

Pandora orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its name follows the long astronomical tradition of assigning classical mythological names to newly discovered minor planets. The designation “55” records its order in the numbering of asteroids, not its size or distance from the Sun.

55 Pandora should not be confused with Pandora, a moon of Saturn, or with the many literary and cinematic works using the same name. Astronomical objects can share mythological names while belonging to entirely different classes and locations.