From April to September 2012, an attempt to synthesize the isotopes 119 and 119 was made by bombarding a target of berkelium -249 with titanium -50 at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. Based on the theoretically predicted cross section, it was expected that an ununennium atom would be synthesized within five months of the beginning of the experiment. Moreover, as berkelium-249 decays to californium -249 (the next element) with a short half-life of 327 days, this allowed elements 119 and 120 to be searched for simultaneously.