Hassium is an element with the symbol Hs and atomic number 108 and is the heaviest member of the group 8 (VIII) elements. The element was first observed in 1984. Several isotopes are known with 269Hs being the longest-lived with a half-life of ~10 s. There is also tentative evidence for an isotope 277bHs with a measured half-life of ~16.5 minutes, which would make it one of the longest-lived superheavy nuclides. Experiments to date have confirmed that hassium is a typical member of group 8 showing a stable +8 oxidation state, analogous to osmium.