Who discovered Pandora, one of Saturn’s moons, in 1891?

William Henry Pickering discovered Pandora, one of Saturn’s moons, in 1891.

Pickering identified Pandora from photographic plates taken at the Harvard College Observatory. The moon was later recognized as an outer shepherd satellite of Saturn’s narrow F ring. Its small size and proximity to Saturn’s rings made it difficult to observe compared with the planet’s larger moons.

Pandora shares its mythological name with the figure associated with the famous jar. Saturn’s moons are named largely after figures from Greek and Roman mythology, and Pandora’s name fits that convention. The moon is irregularly shaped and has a low density, consistent with a porous body.

Pandora is sometimes confused with Prometheus, another small Saturnian moon. Prometheus was discovered earlier and acts as the inner shepherd of the F ring, while Pandora is the outer shepherd. Voyager 1 later supplied close images and improved knowledge of both moons.