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50 free Sagittarius trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Sagittarius trivia quiz covers the ninth sign of the zodiac from three sides. The astrology questions ask about the archer's dates, Jupiter rulership, fire element and mutable modality, opposite sign Gemini, polarity, and the old ideas that prophets are born under it and that a centaur is a 'bestial' sign. The astronomy questions turn to the constellation that holds the centre of the Milky Way: the Teapot and the bow it used to be, Kaus Australis and Rukbat, Nunki the oldest star name, Sagittarius A* and the 2022 black hole image, the Lagoon, Trifid and Omega nebulae, Baade's Window, New Horizons and the Wow! signal. The mythology covers the Babylonian archer-god Nergal and Sumerian Pabilsag, the debate between Chiron the wise centaur and Crotus the satyr, Chiron's parentage, his pupil Asclepius, the Hydra-poisoned arrow and the immortality he traded so Prometheus could go free, plus the December birthstone. Difficulty runs from easy to expert and is shown on each question, so it works for a Sagittarius birthday, a pub quiz or an astronomy club. Every answer was checked against a reference page and each question carries its citation. Try our Zodiac, Astrology and Planets quizzes for more.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What weapon does Sagittarius wield in the sky?
A bow
The Latin name means archer, and the Greeks called the sign Toxotes, which means the same.
Q 02Sagittarius is which sign in the order of the zodiac?
9th
It spans the 240th to 270th degree, ending at the December solstice point.
Q 03Which planet rules Sagittarius?
Jupiter
Jupiter classically also ruled Pisces, before Neptune was assigned there in the 20th century.
Q 04Sagittarius belongs to which element?
Fire
With Aries and Leo it forms the Fire Trigon.
Q 05What is the modality of Sagittarius?
Mutable
It is the fourth mutable sign after Pisces, Gemini and Virgo, closing out autumn.
Q 06Which sign is opposite Sagittarius on the zodiac wheel?
Gemini
Both are mutable signs; the twins face the archer across the chart.
Q 07Under the tropical zodiac the Sun is in Sagittarius between roughly which dates?
November 23 to December 21
The Sun does not reach the actual constellation until around December 18.
Q 08Astronomically, when does the Sun really cross the constellation Sagittarius (as of 2002)?
December 18 to January 18
Sidereal astrologers, who follow the stars, put the sign from December 16 to January 14.
Q 09Because the archer never misses, which professions were traditionally said to be born under Sagittarius?
Seers and prophets
The unfailing arrow was read as a symbol of prophecy.
Q 10Shown as a centaur, Sagittarius is classified by astrologers as what kind of sign?
Bestial (nonhuman)
The distinction is old, but the sources admit it makes no practical difference to a reading.
Q 11Sagittarius belongs to which polarity group?
Positive (active)
The odd-numbered fire and air signs are the positive ones.
Q 12What lies in the westernmost part of the constellation Sagittarius?
The centre of the Milky Way
That is why the constellation is so crowded with clusters and nebulae.
Q 13The brighter stars of Sagittarius form what well-known asterism?
The Teapot
The Milky Way rises above its spout like steam from a kettle.
Q 14What did the stars of the famous kettle-shaped asterism originally represent?
Q 21Roughly what mass for Sagittarius A* did star-orbit measurements give by 2022?
4.3 million Suns
It was pinned down by tracking stars such as S2 whipping around it on tight orbits.
Q 22In which year did the Event Horizon Telescope release the first image of Sagittarius A*?
2022
It was the second black hole ever imaged, after M87's in 2019.
Q 23Which two astronomers shared the 2020 Physics Nobel for showing Sagittarius A* is a supermassive compact object?
Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez
Roger Penrose took the other half of the prize for proving black holes follow from general relativity.
The archer's bow and arrow
Kaus Media, Kaus Borealis and Kaus Australis are the middle, north and south of the bow.
Q 15At which bright star of neighbouring Scorpius does Sagittarius aim its arrow?
Antares
He stands ready to avenge Orion, or to defend Hercules, should the scorpion ever attack.
Q 16What does Alnasl, the name of Gamma2 Sagittarii at the tip of the kettle's spout, mean?
Arrowhead
The line from Kaus Media through Alnasl runs almost straight to Antares.
Q 17Which star is the brightest in Sagittarius, despite not carrying the 'alpha' designation?
Kaus Australis (Epsilon)
Alpha Sagittarii, Rukbat, is a dim magnitude 3.96, roughly seven times fainter.
Q 18What does Rukbat, the name of Alpha Sagittarii, mean?
The archer's knee
Beta Sagittarii, at the centaur's forelegs, is Arkab, the 'Achilles tendon'.
Q 19The star Nunki is thought to be named after which sacred Babylonian city, possibly the oldest star name in use?
Eridu
Eridu on the Euphrates was, in Sumerian tradition, the first city ever built.
Q 20Sagittarius A*, at the heart of the Milky Way, is what kind of object?
A supermassive black hole
Its mass is about 4.3 million Suns, packed into a region smaller than Mercury's orbit.
Q 24Sagittarius A* was discovered in 1974 by Robert Brown and which colleague?
Bruce Balick
Brown added the asterisk in 1982 to mark the compact source inside the larger Sagittarius A.
Q 25Which object in Sagittarius, Messier 8, has a central region called the Hourglass?
The Lagoon Nebula
Bart Bok studied its photographs in 1947 and predicted the dark 'Bok globules' that turned out to hold protostars.
Q 26Messier 20 in Sagittarius is named for its three lobes split by dark bands. What is it called?
The Trifid Nebula
Its outer parts glow blue by reflection while the interior is pink emission, lit by a central triple star.
Q 27Messier 17 in Sagittarius is also known by which bird nickname?
The Swan Nebula
Observers have also seen a horseshoe, a checkmark, a loon and a curl of smoke.
Q 28What is Messier 24, a bright 2.5-magnitude patch of the Milky Way, better known as?
The Small Sagittarius Star Cloud
It is not a cluster but a clear line of sight through the galaxy 10,000 to 16,000 light-years deep.
Q 29Baade's Window in Sagittarius is valued by astronomers because it has very little what?
Obscuring dust
It lets telescopes see globular clusters close to the galactic core that would otherwise be hidden.
Q 30Which space probe was travelling in front of Sagittarius as seen from Earth as of 2016?
New Horizons
It will run out of power long before it comes near any star.