Discovered by Collins, Voyager 1 Satellite of Saturn Orbital period 15 hours | Discovery date October, 1980 Discovered October 1980 Orbits Saturn | |
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Semi-major axis 7008141720000000000♠141720±10 km Eccentricity 6997420000000000000♠0.0042 Inclination 6996872664625997166♠0.050°±0.004° to Saturn's equator Saturn moons Prometheus, Janus, Epimetheus, Atlas, Hyperion | ||
Pandora (/pænˈdɔərə/ pan-DOHR-ə; Greek: Πανδώρα) is an inner satellite of Saturn. It was discovered in 1980 from photos taken by the Voyager 1 probe, and was provisionally designated S/1980 S 26. In late 1985 it was officially named after Pandora from Greek mythology. It is also designated as Saturn XVII.
Pandora was thought to be an outer shepherd satellite of the F Ring. However, recent studies indicate that it does not play such a role, and that only Prometheus, the inner shepherd, contributes to the confinement of the narrow ring. It is more heavily cratered than nearby Prometheus, and has at least two large craters 30 kilometres (19 mi) in diameter. The majority of craters on Pandora are shallow as a result of being filled with debris. Ridges and grooves are also present on moon's surface.
The orbit of Pandora appears to be chaotic, as a consequence of a series of four 118:121 mean-motion resonances with Prometheus. The most appreciable changes in their orbits occur approximately every 6.2 years, when the periapsis of Pandora lines up with the apoapsis of Prometheus and the moons approach to within about 1,400 kilometres (870 mi). Pandora also has a 3:2 mean-motion resonance with Mimas.
From its very low density and relatively high albedo, it seems likely that Pandora is a very porous icy body. There is a lot of uncertainty in these values, however, so this remains to be confirmed.