50 free Virgo trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Virgo trivia quiz covers the sixth sign of the zodiac from every side. The astrology questions ask about the maiden's dates, Mercury rulership, earth element, negative polarity, opposite sign and Hindu equivalent. The astronomy questions turn to the biggest constellation in the zodiac: Spica the ear of grain, the arc-to-Arcturus trick for finding it, the Bowl of Virgo, Vindemiatrix, the equinox point that now sits inside its borders, the thousand-galaxy Virgo Cluster, M87 and the first photograph of a black hole, the Sombrero Galaxy, the first quasar and the first exoplanets. The mythology is rich: Astraea the star-maiden of justice who abandoned Earth, Demeter and Persephone and the pomegranate seeds, the Eleusinian Mysteries, Erigone and her faithful dog, Parthenos and the broken wine jar, the Babylonian Furrow and Frond of Erua, the Egyptian wheat harvest and the medieval Virgin Mary. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on every question, so the quiz suits a Virgo birthday, a pub quiz or an astronomy club night. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Zodiac, Astrology and Planets quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What does the Latin name Virgo mean?
Maiden
The Greeks called the sign Parthenos, the same word used for the Parthenon's goddess Athena.
Q 02Virgo is which sign in the order of the zodiac?
6th
It closes the first half of the zodiac, between Leo and Libra.
Q 03Which planet rules Virgo in traditional astrology?
Mercury
Mercury pulls double duty, ruling Gemini as well; some astrologers also count Virgo as Mercury's sign of exaltation.
Q 04Virgo belongs to which classical element?
Earth
The story goes that Astraea was the last immortal to leave the Earth, which is why the sign is earthy.
Q 05Which sign sits directly opposite Virgo on the zodiac wheel?
Pisces
Both are mutable signs, so they share the job of closing out a season.
Q 06Under the tropical zodiac the Sun is in Virgo between roughly which dates?
August 24 to September 23
The Sun only reaches the constellation Virgo itself around September 16.
Q 07Which degrees of the zodiac does Virgo span?
150th to 180th
The 180th degree is the autumn equinox point, where Libra begins.
Q 08Virgo belongs to which polarity group of signs?
Negative (passive)
The negative signs are the even-numbered ones, making up the earth and water triplicities.
Q 09What is Virgo called in Hindu astrology?
Kanya
Kanya also means maiden, and Hindu astrologers class it as an earth sign ruled by Budha, their Mercury.
Q 10Virgo is the largest constellation of the zodiac and the second-largest in the whole sky after which one?
Hydra
Because it is so big, the Sun spends 44 days crossing it, longer than any other constellation.
Q 11How many days does the Sun take to cross the constellation Virgo, longer than any other?
44
From 1990 to 2062 that crossing runs from September 16 to October 30.
Q 12Which of these key points on the ecliptic lies within the boundaries of Virgo?
The autumn equinox point
The spring equinox point sits in Pisces; the two are where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator.
Q 13Which is the brightest star in Virgo?
Spica
Its Latin name means the maiden's ear of grain, which she holds in her hand.
What does the name of Virgo's brightest star mean in Latin?
Q 21What is the proper name of Epsilon Virginis, meaning 'grape-gatherer'?
Vindemiatrix
Its dawn rising once signalled the start of the grape harvest.
Q 22The constellation is famous for containing a huge cluster of what?
Galaxies
The Virgo Cluster has well over a thousand members and sits at the heart of our own supercluster.
Q 23Approximately how many members does the Virgo Cluster contain?
About 1,300
A 6-inch telescope will show around 160 of them on a clear night.
Q 24What is the larger structure, centred on the constellation's galaxy cluster, that includes our Local Group?
Ear of grain
The Babylonians called the same stars The Furrow, so the farming link is at least three thousand years old.
Q 15The mnemonic for finding Virgo's brightest star runs 'follow the arc to Arcturus and speed on to' what?
Spica
You start at the handle of the Big Dipper and keep curving.
Q 16Roughly how far away is Alpha Virginis, the constellation's brightest star?
250 light-years
It is really two egg-shaped stars whirling so close together they distort each other.
Q 17Which ancient astronomer is thought to have discovered precession using data from Alpha Virginis?
Hipparchus
A temple at Thebes built in 3200 BC had been aligned on the star, and it had visibly drifted since.
Q 18Along with Arcturus and Denebola, Virgo's brightest star forms which seasonal asterism?
The Spring Triangle
Add Cor Caroli and you get the Great Diamond.
Q 19Which planet last passed in front of Alpha Virginis, in 1783, and will next do so in 2197?
Venus
The star lies just over two degrees from the ecliptic, so the Moon covers it fairly often too.
Q 20Five of the constellation's brighter stars form an asterism known as what?
The Bowl of Virgo
With Spica and Theta Virginis added, the whole figure makes a Y shape.
The Virgo Supercluster
Our Local Group is being pulled toward it, a motion astronomers call the Virgocentric flow.
Q 25Which galaxy in Virgo hosted the first-ever direct image of a black hole, released in April 2019?
Messier 87
The Event Horizon Telescope image showed a glowing ring around a black hole of billions of solar masses.
Q 26Roughly what is the mass of the black hole at the centre of M87?
At least 7 billion suns
It is the most massive black hole in the Milky Way's immediate neighbourhood; ours is only about 4 million.
Q 27How many globular clusters orbit M87, compared with 150 to 200 for the Milky Way?
Around 15,000
It is a supergiant elliptical with several trillion stars and a jet thousands of light-years long.
Q 28Which hat-named object, M104, lies about 10 degrees west of Virgo's brightest star?
The Sombrero Galaxy
Its dark dust lane and bulging middle, seen nearly edge-on, look like a wide-brimmed hat.
Q 29M104's hat-like look comes from a large central bulge and what other feature?
A prominent dust lane
Spitzer later found its halo was far bigger than expected, suggesting a giant elliptical hiding under the brim.
Q 30Virgo contains 3C 273, notable as the first-ever identified example of what?
A quasar
At magnitude 12.9 it is the most distant object an amateur with a modest telescope is likely to see, some 2.4 billion light-years away.