We briefly review the fundamentals of nuclear gamma-ray line astronomy
(radioactive astronomy), focusing on its role to decipher the intimate physics
of supernovae, either immediatly (via 56Co) or after a time delay (via
44Ti). All kinds of supernovae can be in principle tested through their
radioactivities and their associated gamma-ray lines.
Dedicated to the spectroscopy and imaging of celestial sources in the 15 keV
to 10 MeV band, the ESA scientific observatory INTEGRAL will open a golden age
of nuclear astrophysics in EuropeComment: Invited review, "Cosmic Evolution", meeting in honor of the 60th
birthday of Jean Audouze and Jim Truran, to be published by World Scientific,
6 pages, 1 figur
