ɹoʊtˈeɪʃən ɐbˌaʊt ðɪ ˈæksɪs ʌv mˈɪnɪməm ɪnˈɜːʃə ˈɔːlsoʊ kˈɔːld ðə mˈaɪnɚ pɹˈɪnsɪpəl ˈæksɪs ɪz ˈɔːlsoʊ stˈeɪbəl, bˌʌt ɡˈɪvən ɪnˈʌf tˈaɪm, ˌɛni pɚɾɚbˈeɪʃənz dˈuː tʊ ˈɛnɚdʒi dˌɪsɪpˈeɪʃən ɔːɹ tˈoːɹks wʊd kˈɔːz ðə pˈɑːlhoʊd pˈæθ tʊ ɛkspˈænd, ɪn lˈɑːɹdʒɚ ænd lˈɑːɹdʒɚɹ ɪlˈɪpsᵻz ɔːɹ sˈɜːkəlz, ænd ᵻvˈɛntʃuːəli mˈaɪɡɹeɪt θɹuː ðə sˌɛpɚɹˈeɪtɹɪks ænd ɪts ˈæksɪs ʌv ˌɪntɚmˈiːdiət ɪnˈɜːʃə tʊ ɪts ˈæksɪs ʌv mˈæksɪməm ɪnˈɜːʃə.
Rotation about the axis of minimum inertia (also called the minor principal axis) is also stable, but given enough time, any perturbations due to energy dissipation or torques would cause the polhode path to expand, in larger and larger ellipses or circles, and eventually migrate through the separatrix and its axis of intermediate inertia to its axis of maximum inertia.