  The determination of astrophysical reaction rates requires different
approaches depending on the conditions in hydrostatic and explosive burning.
The focus here is on astrophysical reaction rates for radiative neutron capture
reactions. Relevant nucleosynthesis processes not only involve the s-process
but also the i-, r- and $\gamma$-processes, which from the nuclear perspective
mainly differ in the relative interaction energies of neutrons and nuclei, and
in the nuclear level densities of the involved nuclei. Emphasis is put on the
difference between reactions at low and high temperature. Possible
complications in the prediction and measurement of these reaction rates are
illustrated and the connection between theory and experiment is addressed.
