Here's how:
* Meteorites: Many meteorites are remnants of the early solar system, essentially time capsules from the formation of our planets. By dating the oldest meteorites using radioactive dating methods, scientists get a rough estimate of the age of the solar system, which is also the age of the Earth.
* Lunar Rocks: Rocks brought back from the Moon by Apollo missions were also dated using radioactive methods. The age of these rocks provided independent confirmation of the age of the Earth, as the Moon is believed to have formed from a massive impact on the Earth early in its history.
By combining data from both meteorite and lunar rock dating, scientists have established a very reliable age for the Earth and the Moon, confirming the age of our solar system.
