Chasing totality: How to view and photograph the 2026 solar eclipse ⁠88%

By Dr John Mason⁠0%

7/6/2026, 6:09:56 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 14 faulty reasoning types, including no named faulty reasoning patterns yet, with no single egregious example has been isolated yet. Analysis detected 786 faulty-reasoning hits from 291 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 76.7% and a BS Rank of ⁠88% (3,010 of 23,989 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 87.50% of the article peer group.

Free online event | Wednesday 29 July 2026 
7pm BST | 2pm EDT | 11am PDT 
Join renowned eclipse chaser and astronomer Dr John Mason for a captivating 60-minute online talk exploring one of the decade’s most remarkable celestial events: the 2026 total solar eclipse. 
Combining expert insights with practical advice, this webinar is designed for anyone eager to witness and photograph totality at its most dramatic. 
Discover the best places along the eclipse path, from the stark beauty of Greenland and Iceland to the coastlines of northern Spain and the Balearic Islands, as well as the prime location of central Spain. 
Dr Mason will guide you through the advantages and disadvantages of each location, whether observing from land or sea. 
The talk will also cover how to prepare for and capture the eclipse in all its fleeting glory. 
Learn essential techniques for photographing totality, including equipment choices, timing, composition and how to avoid common pitfalls. 
For those in the UK, Dr Mason will also highlight how to safely observe and enjoy the partial phase of the eclipse. 
Whether you are a seasoned photographer or a first-time eclipse watcher, this engaging session will inspire and equip you to experience the 2026 total solar eclipse to the fullest. 
MEET THE EXPERT 
Dr John Mason 
John is the principal astronomy lecturer at South Downs Planetarium in the UK and a well-known "eclipse chaser" who has gained a reputation for his enthusiastic and inspirational lecturing style. 
For more than 30 years, he has been leading overseas expeditions to observe and record natural phenomena such as annular and total solar eclipses, the polar aurora and major meteor showers in destinations all over the world. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 1.8%Confirmation Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 3.2%New Scientist: 1.0%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 22.7%Dr John Mason: 5.7%New Scientist: 2.1%Availability Heuristic22.7%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.5%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.2%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 1.5%New Scientist: 2.6%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 39.5%Dr John Mason: 24.3%New Scientist: 5.8%Framing Effect39.5%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.3%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.2%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 16.2%Dr John Mason: 10.9%New Scientist: 6.6%Optimism Bias16.2%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.6%Pessimism Bias0.0%This article: 12.0%Dr John Mason: 3.0%New Scientist: 1.9%Negativity Bias12.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.2%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.6%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 27.8%Dr John Mason: 21.2%New Scientist: 7.3%Halo Effect27.8%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.4%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.3%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.2%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Straw Man0.0%This article: 34.0%Dr John Mason: 23.7%New Scientist: 13.9%Appeal to Authority34.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 2.5%New Scientist: 0.9%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.6%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 22.7%Dr John Mason: 5.7%New Scientist: 3.2%Hasty Generalization22.7%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.7%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 20.3%Dr John Mason: 14.6%New Scientist: 5.1%Appeal to Emotion20.3%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.9%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 1.4%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.8%Anecdotal0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 12.0%Dr John Mason: 3.0%New Scientist: 1.0%Ambiguity (Equivocation)12.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.1%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 7.6%Dr John Mason: 1.9%New Scientist: 0.6%Unattributed Quote7.6%This article: 1.0%Dr John Mason: 0.3%New Scientist: 0.4%Quote-first Misdirection1.0%This article: 44.0%Dr John Mason: 27.7%New Scientist: 3.7%Biased Writer Voice44.0%This article: 7.6%Dr John Mason: 1.9%New Scientist: 1.9%Indoctrination7.6%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 0.0%New Scientist: 0.0%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 2.7%Dr John Mason: 49.1%New Scientist: 20.0%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…2.7%

291 words analyzed.

Speakers

1speaker25%attributed speech218writer words
Selected voice

Dr John Mason

70%flagged-word coverage
73 attributed words100% of attributed speech89% writer coverage
0%25.0%50.0%Biased Writer Voice-5.7 ptsWriter: 45.4%Dr John Mason: 39.7%39.7%Unattributed Quote+30.1 ptsWriter: 0.0%Dr John Mason: 30.1%30.1%Indoctrination-10.1 ptsWriter: 10.1%Dr John Mason: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -3.7 ptsWriter: 3.7%Dr John Mason: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-1.4 ptsWriter: 1.4%Dr John Mason: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.