The isotope of ununoctium was first detected in 2006 during the synthesis of ununhexium. During this time, three nuclei of ununoctium appeared before they quickly decayed. The procedure that was used consisted of using californium and calcium isotopes. During the reaction, the calcium isotope, number 48, was used to bombard a target of the californium isotope, number 249, in order to produce ununhexium. Before ununhexium was produced in its isotopic form, the isotope of ununoctium briefly appeared. The ununoctium then underwent alpha decay to produce the ununhexium. The reaction proceeded very quickly as the half life of the ununoctium isotope was estimated to be only 0.89 milliseconds. Verification of the ununoctium nuclei that were produced was conducted through the creation of a putative daughter nucleus of an isotope of ununhexium. A claim of ununoctium production using krypton and lead that was released in 1999 was later proved to be fraudulent.
