  Formation and decay of rod-like and slab-like nuclei, as may be encountered
in the outer parts of neutron stars, are examined within a zero-temperature
stability analysis with respect to perturbations inducing fission and proton
clustering. The nonspherical nuclei are found to be stable against these
perturbations, implying the possibility that the size of the stellar region
containing such nuclei exceeds the equilibrium prediction.
