Pandora is the Saturn moon that shares its name with Pandora from Greek mythology.
Pandora is a small outer satellite of Saturn. It acts as a shepherd moon of Saturn’s narrow F ring, working with the moon Prometheus to help confine and shape the ring’s particles. Its association with Prometheus is especially fitting because both moons were named after figures from Greek mythology connected with the ancient story.
The moon was discovered in photographs taken by Voyager 1 in 1980, although the discovery was announced later. It is irregularly shaped and heavily cratered, characteristics common among many small outer satellites. Pandora’s surface and orbit have been studied through Voyager observations and later astronomical research.
The Saturnian moon should not be confused with asteroid 55 Pandora, another celestial body named from mythology. It is also distinct from the fictional or symbolic uses of “Pandora’s box.” In astronomy, names are assigned to separate objects even when they draw on the same mythological source.