Copy of a text I posted on a different thread...FYI.
Generally many calendar years have 2 solar eclipses.
The max number per given year is 5. The last time this happened was in 1935 and the next time will be in 2206.
During the last 5000 years this has happened only about 25 times.
BUT how often is a total solar eclipse visible from the same point? That's a totally different story.
The computed mean frequency is approx 375 years. The calculations were first done by the Prussian astronomer Friedrich Bessel who introduced the so called "Besselian Elements"
This time range can vary from a low value of 109 years (Halifax , Nova Scotia) to 1565 years (LA, Calif)
There could be some locations on the Earth where this could be as high as 3500 years.
PS: Extracted from NASA Eclipse site.
In 1824, the Prussian astronomer and mathematician Friedrich Bessel introduced a new method for the prediction of solar eclipses. It was so successful that it remains today as the most powerful technique, even with the application of the digital computer. The key to Bessel's method is the expression of the ephemerides of the Sun and Moon in terms of the Moon's shadow with respect to Earth's center. This change in the frame of reference greatly simplifies the mathematics and geometry without any sacrifice in accuracy.
