Owning his own piece of outer space is a source of bittersweet pleasure and interest for Jerry Pepin of Auburn.

Eighteen months ago, Pepin was given a meteorite owned by his late friend Don, a neighbor. “He was a rock hound,” recalls Pepin. “He loved to make jewelry, and his car trunk was always full of all sorts of rocks.”

The meteorite has found its place as an ornament in Pepin’s home and it serves as a reminder of his friend.

Pepin watches a lot of the broadcasts on the NASA channel and has been intrigued with space ever since the Sputnik days. He enjoys monitoring the landing of the space shuttles. His partner of 11 years, Jeannette Libby, even gave him a telescope to feed his space interest.

“At 75, Jerry says he’s too old to go up there now, but he’d go if he had the money,” Libby said.

Pepin adds, “Yeah, but I’d have to pull my own weight. Even if you pay, you’d be taking someone’s place and you’d have to work.”

Pepin has experimented with a magnet and says there’s no attraction between the meteorite and the magnet. He does not know where his friend Don got the specimen and he says, “So, it’s just a space rock or debris; but hey, I own a piece of outer space!”