Question

many ancient cultures viewed solar and lunar eclipses as disturbing and dangerous events. beliefs varied among cultures, but a common theme was that something frightening was happening to the sun and moon during an eclipse. some cultures believed that the sun and moon were fighting, while others feared that the two celestial bodies were under attack by dragons or demons.
for thousands of years, observers have been fascinated and frightened by comets as they have streaked across the night sky. in the past, people in many cultures thought comets were omens of bad things to come. that was in part because comets seemed to be unpredictable in their motion, unlike the reliable rising and setting of the sun. historically, sightings of comets were incorrectly linked to tragedies such as plagues, earthquakes, illnesses, and wars.
which sentence best combines the main, or central, ideas of both texts?
in ancient times, solar and lunar eclipses were mistakenly tied to tragic events such as plagues, earthquakes, illnesses, and wars.
ancient civilizations regarded some astronomical occurrences, such as eclipses and comets, as ominous and frightening events.

Explanation:

Text 1 discusses how ancient cultures viewed solar and lunar eclipses as disturbing and dangerous. Text 2 talks about how comets were seen as omens of bad things in the past. The second combined - sentence includes both astronomical occurrences (eclipses and comets) and the common perception (ominous and frightening) from both texts. The first combined - sentence only focuses on eclipses and ties them to tragic events, but Text 2 is more about the general perception of comets as omens rather than specifically tying them to the same tragic events as in the first combined - sentence.

Answer:

Ancient civilizations regarded some astronomical occurrences, such as eclipses and comets, as ominous and frightening events.