Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The Long-Term Evolution Project (LTEP), realized in collaboration by the IAS-Reparto di Planetologia (Rome, Italy) and the Astronomical Institute of SAV (Bratislava, Czechoslovakia), has been developed with the aim of giving a general insight into the dynamical evolution of short-period comets. The motion of all the known short-period comets has been investigated over a long time span (over 800 years) taking care, as far as possible, to eliminate the sources of possible discrepancies within the computations. An internally consistent data-set and an atlas of orbital evolutions are the first outputs of this project. The main characteristics of the LTEP are discussed, together with some general remarks on its importance for cometary studies, its limitations and the future developments.