How can astronomers use rocks from the moon to estimate the age of the solar system?

Answer 1

14 billion years is a ball park figure for the age of the universe not the solar system. Depending on who you talk to, ages for the universe range from 11.3 billion to 13.7 billion depending on whose theory you accept. Oldest rock on the surface of the Earth date around 4.3-4.4 billion. Geologist use 4.5-4.6 billion as the age of the earth which becomes the bottom limit for the age of the Solar System. The age of the Solar system can be defined as when the Sun became hot enough to ignite, starting the fusion process. The elements of the Solar system existed long before the event of 1st light for the Sun, as the dust cloud which became our Solar System contracted forming the planets and Sun. If you call the birth of the Sun when it first gave off light-started the fusion process astrophyscists, astronomers and nuclear physicists using the law of conservation of energy and nuclear energy working backwards from calculating the mass of the sun sort of thing come up with varying answers depending on the assumptions you use. My personal guess is 5-6 billion for the Sun since 1st light.

Answer 2

Astronomers can analyze the radioactive elements present in the rocks from the moon to determine their age. By measuring the decay of these elements and comparing them to known decay rates, scientists can estimate the age of the rocks, providing insights into the age of the solar system.

Answer 3

The solar system as the beginning is estimated by the determination of the age of the Sun when it ignited as a star. This is evidenced to be about 5 billion years old, and has about another 5 billion years of hydrogen (using 400 million tons every second) left to change into helium which is the process by which the Sun is powered by its thermonuclear fire. The earth and the other planets appear to have developed from the dust and debris over the next half billion years after the Sun ignited its nuclear furnace. Testing of rocks from the earth and the those brought back from the moon indicate the earth and planets are about 4.5 thousand million (4.5 billion) years old.

Answer 4

Through analyzing the geology of extra-planetary objects. Rocks on Earth can't be used because they are continually renewed. The ages of rocks and minerals are found through radiometric age dating. Radiometric age dating is the process by the radioactive decay of isotopes is analyzed to determine age. We can know how quickly an isotope decays and we can know what ratio of parent to daughter atoms exist in a sample, from this, we can figure out how old the sample is. The oldest sample that has ever been found is approximately 4.56 billion years old, thus this is the approximation for the age of the solar system, assuming that all things in the solar system formed at about the same time.

Answer 5

The method is to use the age of meteorites, because they are thought to have formed very early in the history of the Solar System. These ages are found using "radioactive dating" methods. The Solar System is estimated

to be about 4.6 thousand million years old.

Answer 6

That isn't a complete question, let alone a thought. The Earth's age is estimated at about 4.6 billion years. This is estimated through radiometric dating (dating of half life of igneous rock formations. We also dated rocks from the moon and various meteorites. we also look at emission evidence from the sun.

Answer 7

Our solar system has been reliably dated to about 4.6 billion years.

Answer 8

About 4.5 billion years old, that's how old our sun is once the sun is formed anything orbiting it be it Gases, dust or boiling planets of magma its classed as a solar system.

Answer 9

For a start, the solar system can definitely be no younger than Earth. The age of the Earth can be estimated from radioactive decay.

Answer 10

The earth has been estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, but Earth isn't the oldest planet. My best guess would be that our solar system is some 5-5.5 billion years old.