Pandora
From the Early Pandora Wiki Canon Real world Wiki lore
Pandora is a moon, not a planet. It is a little smaller than Earth and circles a huge gas giant called Polyphemus, which in turn circles the star Alpha Centauri A, about 4.4 light-years from our Sun. The Na'vi simply call their world Eywa'eveng, "the child of Eywa." Canon
Where Pandora is in space
Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to our Sun. It has three stars: two bright Sun-like stars called Alpha Centauri A and B, and a small red star called Proxima Centauri. Light from there takes about four and a half years to reach Earth. Real world
In the films, the human starship Venture Star takes almost six years to fly from Earth to Pandora, with the crew asleep in cryosleep pods for the whole journey. Canon
From Pandora's sky you can see both Alpha Centauri A, which is Pandora's sun, and Alpha Centauri B, which looks like a very bright star even in daytime. Polyphemus hangs huge above it all. Because Pandora circles a giant planet, it often passes into Polyphemus's shadow, and eclipses happen far more often than on Earth. Canon
Pandora and Earth compared
| Earth | Pandora | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A planet circling the Sun Real world | A moon circling the gas giant Polyphemus Canon |
| Size | About 12,700 km across Real world | A little smaller than Earth Canon |
| Gravity | Normal for us Real world | About 80% of Earth's, so you would feel lighter Canon |
| Air | About 0.04% carbon dioxide Real world | Thicker air, with about 18% carbon dioxide; poisonous to humans Canon |
| Biggest thing in the sky | The Sun and the Moon Real world | Polyphemus, many times wider than our Moon looks Canon |
| Night light | Moonlight and stars Real world | Polyphemus-shine, other moons, and a glowing forest floor Canon |
| Legs on most animals | Four (or two, or six for insects) Real world | Six Canon |
What the world is like
Pandora is covered in thick rainforests, oceans, volcanoes and mountains that float in the sky. Its gravity is weaker than Earth's and its air is thicker, so trees grow enormous, some taller than any skyscraper in a small town, and many animals have six legs instead of four for better grip. Canon
Humans cannot breathe the air. It has enough oxygen, but far too much carbon dioxide and poisonous hydrogen sulphide, so humans wear exopacks, breathing masks that filter the air. In the first film, new arrivals are warned that without a mask they would pass out in about 20 seconds. Canon
Regions of Pandora
| Region | What it is like | Who lives there |
|---|---|---|
| The great rainforests | Giant trees, glowing plants, rivers and waterfalls | The Omatikaya, who live in a Hometree Canon |
| The Hallelujah Mountains | Floating mountains wrapped in mist, linked by vines | Ikran nest here; the Na'vi climb up to bond with them Canon |
| The eastern seas and reefs | Warm shallow reefs, islands and open ocean | The Metkayina, the reef people, and the whale-like tulkun Canon |
| The plains | Wide grasslands | The Horse Clan, who ride direhorses Canon |
| The volcanic lands | Ash, lava fields and burnt forest | The Ash People, shown in Avatar: Fire and Ash Canon |
| The ancient swamp country | Slow rivers, marshes and loreyu-lined banks | Once home to the early Na’vi and the Taktswìkyu Na'vi legend Wiki lore |
A glowing world
Almost every living thing on Pandora glows. This glowing is called bioluminescence. When a Na'vi steps on moss at night, it lights up under their feet. The botanist who helped design the plants, Jodie Holt, suggested that the plants glow to attract pollinators in the dark. Canon
Bioluminescence is real. On Earth, fireflies, glow-worms, some mushrooms and many deep-sea animals make their own light using a chemical reaction. Most glowing life on Earth lives in the ocean, but on Pandora it is everywhere. Real world
A living network
The roots of Pandora's trees connect underground and pass tiny electrical signals to one another, like nerves in a brain. In the first film, the scientist Grace Augustine says the network has more connections than a human brain. The Na'vi call this whole living network Eywa, the Great Mother. Canon
Plants and creatures
| Name | Na'vi name | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Mountain banshee | ikran | A winged flyer that bonds with one Na'vi rider for life Canon |
| Great leonopteryx | toruk | The biggest flying predator, ridden only by a Toruk Makto (more) Canon |
| Direhorse | pa'li | A six-legged, horse-like animal the Na'vi ride Canon |
| Thanator | palulukan | A huge black hunter, the most feared animal of the forest Canon |
| Viperwolf | nantang | A pack hunter that prowls at night Canon |
| Tulkun | tulkun | A giant, wise ocean creature, a friend of the Metkayina Canon |
| Woodsprites | atokirina' | Floating, jellyfish-like seeds of the sacred tree, seen as signs from Eywa Canon |
| Helicoradian | loreyu | The shy spiral plant that hides when touched Canon |
Long before any of these were known to humans, in the days of the very first Na'vi, the swamps were ruled by the Taktswìkyu and the little tak ducks it ate. Na'vi legend
The Na'vi
The Na’vi are tall, blue people about ten feet tall who live in clans across the moon. Each clan is adapted to its own home: forest clans are slim climbers, while the Metkayina have wide tails and strong arms for swimming. They all share the queue, which lets them bond with animals and with Eywa. Canon
Humans on Pandora
Humans came to Pandora to mine unobtanium, a rare mineral found under the forests and inside the floating mountains. Their base is called Hell's Gate. The Na'vi call the humans Sky People, because they came down from the sky. Mining destroyed parts of the forest, which led to the battles in the films. Canon
Could Pandora be real?
Pandora exists only in the world of Avatar, but scientists take the idea seriously. Moons of giant planets could have liquid water and air. Our own Solar System has some good examples: Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus have oceans of liquid water hidden under ice. Real world
Astronomers have found more than five thousand planets around other stars, but no moon around another star has been confirmed yet. In 2025, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope reported a possible giant planet around the real Alpha Centauri A, in the zone where liquid water could exist. It is still only a candidate, and nobody knows if it has moons. Real world
Pandora long ago
Pandora has not always looked the way it does in the films. Na'vi legend remembers an Age of the Great Swamps, when the land was wetter and the rivers spread into glowing marshes. Wiki lore says the forests of today grew up where many of those swamps once were. Na'vi legend Wiki lore