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A technetium star (aka Tc-rich star) is a star showing absorption lines of the element, technetium (Tc). Technetium (atomic number 47) is radioactive, its most stable isotopes with a half-life of around four million years. The detection of technetium in stars during the 1950s represented a confirmation of the concept of stellar nucleosynthesis; technetium does not last long enough to have been present at the star's formation. Technetium stars are AGB stars which have undergone a dredge-up, bringing to the surface some of its synthesized elements. They include some S-type stars, C-type stars, and M-type stars.