How rare is a solar eclipse?

Rebecca MorelleScience editor, reporting from north Cornwall A total solar eclipse is a very special celestial event to witness - but they’re more common than you might think. They occur somewhere around the world about every 18 months. But they feel very rare because each one can only be seen from a tiny patch of the globe. During a total eclipse, as the Moon travels between the Earth and the Sun it casts its shadow on Earth’s surface - it’s called the umbral shadow. But that shadow zips along