Why the golden age of total solar eclipses is already behind us

Total solar eclipses have captivated humans for centuries for their rarity, fleeting durations and world-altering effects. But, as this animation from MinutePhysics explains, these astronomical events used to be more frequent and spectacular many millions of years ago, and are, very slowly but quite surely, becoming a thing of the past. Unravelling why we happen to exist in the tail end of the total-eclipse era, this short provides a brief yet rich dive into planetary physics.