Pandora is an outer shepherd satellite of Saturn’s narrow F ring.
Saturn’s F ring is a thin, dynamic ring located outside the main bright rings. Pandora orbits just beyond it, while Prometheus orbits just inside it. Their gravitational effects help confine and shape the ring, which is why the pair are called shepherd satellites. The interaction can also produce changing structures such as kinks, channels, and streamer-like features.
Pandora is an irregular, heavily cratered moon only a few dozen kilometres across. It was photographed in detail by spacecraft observations, including visits by Voyager and the Cassini mission. Pandora is sometimes confused with Prometheus because both moons are linked to the F ring, but their positions differ: Pandora is the outer shepherd and Prometheus is the inner shepherd. This orbital relationship is distinct from Pandora’s role in Greek mythology and from the fictional moon in Avatar.